FAFO

Trump just imprinted his version of the Monroe Doctrine on the world order, pitting the "warmth of collectivism" vs. a rugged individual in a contest for primacy in the Western Hemisphere.

I ❤️ snark.

Television news the past few days has been high comedy as the usual media suspects scramble like Keystone Cops to find any credible commentator willing to cast aspersions at the U.S.-sponsored regime change in Venezuela.

Instead, the response, even among skeptics, is that though Trump may have pushed the envelope to enforce an arrest warrant for Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores (based on a 25-page indictment from the Southern District of New York alleging drug trafficking, corruption, and narcoterrorism), the world is a much better place with Maduro sitting in jail instead of sitting in a presidential mansion as dictator of one of the most important countries in the Western Hemisphere.

I could not agree more. Replacing the Maduro regime benefits the citizens of Venezuela immediately, and the ripple effects will very likely make the entire world a better place in short order. This is an unambiguous “W” on the scoreboard that just may be the most substantive move toward a more stable world through U.S. foreign policy in decades.

It shouldn’t take long to start reaping the benefits. Without support from Venezuela, I give the regime in Cuba less than six months. Ousting Maduro also thwarts China's ambitions in the region and complicates life for Iran, Russia, and a host of other bad actors. The black market for oil, a significant global currency among rogue regimes, is likely to take a big hit. The same goes for drug trafficking, money laundering and illegitimately elected governments. I’m finding it very difficult to feel bad about any of this.

(Note to readers: As many of you know, two of the four children in my care are in my home as a direct consequence of illegal drugs. Some of the drugs that destroyed their birth families likely originated with Venezuelan cartels. It’s OK with everyone here if Trump parks a cruise missile up the ass of every drug lord in the world. I triple dog dare you to explain to us why taking these assholes off the board is a bad thing.

One more thing. If you are one of the nimrods I see on social media claiming that Maduro is a more legitimately elected leader than Trump, if you see me coming, you ought to run.)

But it was still a bold move. Not everyone would have had the cojones to pull off such a thing (more on this presently). I also approve of not installing Maria Corina Machado, who actually won the last presidential election—at least not right away. This will not be another Iraq or Afghanistan. This time, there are adults in the room.

This operation, almost the textbook definition of a surgical strike, could not have evolved as it did without some help from Maduro’s inner circle—most likely his former VP and now interim president, Delcy Rodríguez. I’m reasonably certain that Rodríguez cut a deal with the U.S. to sell out Maduro in exchange for taking his place. Given the presence of Maduro loyalists still hanging around, a compliant Rodríguez is a more suitable choice for stability than an out-of-her-depth Machado.

All of this was accomplished without a single reported American casualty. If current details are accurate, all of the dying was done by 32 members of the much-vaunted Cuban security forces who were guarding Maduro. Another Cold War-era bogeyman pantsed.

But that’s not the way this story is being played in the mainstream media, where hair-on-fire coverage is dominating the airwaves. From what I can tell, Maduro and Flores seem to be the only two criminals from south of our border ever that the left doesn’t want in the U.S. It’s a wonder to behold.

But perhaps the best ridiculous take on all of this came from newly minted NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who posted on X:

Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law. This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn’t just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home.

Mamdani is one of probably three people, even in a place like Manhattan, who would assert that this particular “regime change” is bad for NYC—and the other two are sitting in a jail courtesy of U.S. special ops and the Southern District of New York.

All of this wailing and gnashing of teeth reflects an exorbitant degree of cluelessness and inability to read the room. Mamdani’s pronouncement played alongside video clips showing members of the Venezuelan diaspora in New York, Miami, and other American cities happily celebrating Maduro’s ouster while people in Venezuela cheered and waved American flags.

All of this is yet more proof that when it comes to the left and their enablers in the media, it is nearly impossible to overestimate the level of tone deafness and/or underestimate their grasp of the things they like to rail about. To wit. I give you Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego. Try not to injure yourself laughing.

With the ouster of Maduro, most of what Trump has been up to in the Caribbean the past few months now makes a lot more sense. Has he still pushed the boundaries of U.S. law? Absolutely. But he’s not the first. There’s an awful lot of convenient political amnesia out there concerning all of this.

Where were the naysayers when Barack Obama used 563 drones to kill roughly 4000 people in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan during his administration? Where was the “we can’t conduct spec ops in a sovereign country” crowd when Obama used Seal Team Six to kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan without asking permission?

In fact, where were the naysayers when Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 that gave any president the right to do whatever they want with anyone they can, by any stretch, label a terrorist? I would argue that it was Obama, in fact, who handed Trump all of the legal tools that he needed to do his bidding in the Caribbean and in Venezuela courtesy of the 2012 NDAA.

There’s more. If being rid of Maduro is such a bad thing, why did Joe Biden up the standing reward of $15 million for information leading to Maduro’s arrest or conviction on drug trafficking and weapons charges to $25 million just before leaving office? Maduro is virtually the only criminal known to U.S. law enforcement that Biden didn’t pardon via autopen on the way out.

Then there is the uproar from UN types and supporters of international order. International law? Oh please—now you’re just being plumb silly. When has international law ever stopped any bad actor from doing their worst? Iran? Iraq? Syria? Palestine? North Korea? Cuba? Russia? Venezuela? Sweet Jesus, show me a sign.

As long as China and Russia have permanent seats on the Security Council, the UN will never hold bad actors accountable. Never. It’s a waste of time and money. There’s ample historical precedent that supports this assertion.

When Palestinian terrorists killed 12 athletes during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, the international community did bupkus about it. It was the Israelis who tracked down and dealt with everyone they could find associated with this horrific event. Not the UN—the IDF.

When Yugoslavia descended into war, murder and violence after the dissolution of the USSR, most of the international community stood around with thumbs up their asses until the United States got involved and led the way. In this case, others did have some skin in the game, but it was intervention by the U.S. that moved things rapidly toward denouement.

The UN stood by and watched Hutu militias kill at least a half million Tutsis in a paroxysm of ethnic genocide in the mid-1990s. They did absolutely nothing

The list goes on and on.

The international order as articulated by the UN is best described as a clueless, almost completely useless, self-aggrandizing bureaucratic waste of resources that inexplicably occupies a prime piece of real estate in midtown Manhattan. It’s the first place hostile aliens should visit with the mothership if they show up.

So, yeah, I’m down with Trump’s spin on the Monroe Doctrine. While the rest of the world stood by and twiddled their thumbs discussing useless economic sanctions, Trump broke off a foot in someone’s ass that had it coming. The UN can either get on board or get out of the way. That should not prove a bridge too far since it’s what they’ve done best for the last eight decades.

I want to circle back to Zohran Mamdani, who, in less than a week after being sworn in as mayor of NYC, has distinguished himself as an even greater idiot than I thought possible. Mamdani’s embrace of Maduro—criminal, brutal thug, illegitimate leader and all-around ace of a human being—is no doubt motivated by his preference for the warmth of collectivism with a brother socialist.

Ask anyone in Russia, China or Venezuela how that warmth of collectivism worked out. Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Rugged individualism vs. the warmth of collectivism. Circa 1989

Associated Press and Idaho Press Club-winning columnist Martin Hackworth of Pocatello is a physicist, writer, climber, skier, motorcyclist, musician, and retired Idaho State University faculty member who now spends his time raising four kids. Follow him on X at @MartinHackworth, on Facebook at facebook.com/martin.hackworth, and on Substack at martinhackworthsubstack.com.