WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 6, 2026) — Donald Trump returned to power with the promise of being a president for peace, but in less than a year in office he has not hesitated to resort to force in a drastic manner, as in Iran, Nigeria, or Venezuela. Trump ordered the large-scale military attacks on Venezuela on Saturday and said that the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro—whom he accuses of heading a narco-trafficking government—had been captured and taken out of the country on a flight.
The operation that ushered in the New Year comes after the U.S. military attacked Nigeria on Christmas Day, in what Trump said was an operation aimed at jihadists to support Christians. Months earlier, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, one of the United States’ staunchest enemies, immediately declared “victory,” and brought the offensive to an end.
And hours before the attack on Venezuela, Trump warned that he was ready to strike Iran again if the clerical regime once more violently suppresses the protest movement in the streets.
A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE ASPIRANT
The fondness for war would seem to contradict the image of a president who has loudly proclaimed that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for, according to him and his followers, having ended eight wars. In his second inaugural address on January 20 of last year, Trump said: “My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.” But the Republican has also championed what he calls “peace through strength,” to attack authoritarian governments that have been condemned and sanctioned by the United Nations, or those that are simply hostile to him.
Washington published less than a month ago a new and tough National Security Strategy in which it proclaimed a revision of the Monroe Doctrine, under which the United States once again considers its interests in Latin America a priority. Trump says he is promoting the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, devastated by the war launched by Israel, and continues to lead negotiations to achieve peace between Russia and Ukraine.
But at the same time he renamed the Department of Defense the “Department of War.” “We are achieving peace through strength. That’s what we are doing,” Trump said at a rally last month in Pennsylvania.
A “LOSERS’” STRATEGY
Trump campaigned, both in his first term and in this second one, against U.S. interventionism beyond its borders. In his view, sending thousands of soldiers and spending billions of dollars on the invasion and then the reconstruction of a country, as happened in Afghanistan or Iraq, is a “losers’” strategy. He therefore promotes targeted operations instead, in which the armed forces can demonstrate their ability to destroy or capture key targets and then promptly withdraw while proclaiming victory.
In a speech in Riyadh in May, Trump said that “so-called nation-builders destroyed many more nations than they built” and did not understand the countries in which they intervened. “Maduro is NOT the president of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government. Maduro is the leader of the Cartel of the Suns, a narco-terrorist organization that has taken over a country. And he is accused of smuggling drugs into the United States,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio recalled on Saturday by reposting an old message on the X network.
Trump, however, has won a peace prize since taking office. FIFA president Gianni Infantino presented Trump last month in Washington with an award from world soccer’s governing body ahead of the next World Cup for his efforts “in favor of world harmony.”
With information from Agence France-Presse (AFP)
