Unlike some countries (see note 1 below), the UK did not condemn President Trump’s kidnap of Maduro in Venezuela, but helped capture their “Russian” registered oil tanker- was this about international law, or keeping Trump “on side” over Ukraine? His motives cannot be primarily about oil, with Venezuela’s reserves of 300 billion barrels heavy and expensive to extract (about $200 billion over two years to restore production to previous levels), to be useable needing to be blended- recently with lighter Iranian and Russian, in earlier years with US oil. Chevron still supplies about 20 percent of Venezuela’s exports (keeping its options open?), but Exxon moved to next-door Guyana, now the biggest producer in Latin America. Until Biden reduced sanctions in 2023 Venezuela barely met its own (heavily subsidised) needs, and only the collapse of its economy has now provided a surplus for export.
Trump’s actions in Venezuela are not the only threat to the so-called “rules-based international order” (see note 2 below). International organisations are abandoned if they do not serve the interests of the powerful (as the US is doing with the United Nations). If NATO is undermined what does this mean for Russia within Europe? Perhaps the potential offering of mutual security (of the kind that Russia has sought for decades), and eventually the growth of trade, hoped for by Angela Merkel (see note 3)? The USA’s self-interest in dominating the Western hemisphere (expressed in the Monroe Doctrine and the Washington Consensus- see note 4) will outlive Donald Trump, and require a better response than Brexit and Immigration Controls have offered so far.
Our reading was Matthew 20, verses 17 to 28, where discussion of “great ones” and “tyrants” was provoked by two disciples’ request for places of honour and power in “your kingdom”. But real leadership, says Jesus, is a matter of service, even of self-sacrifice, not of dominance and power. “Can you drink the cup?” he asks them. Even if they do, places of honour are “for those for whom it has been prepared” (the poorest and least- compare Matthew 18, verses 1 to 4 and 20, verse 16?). The disciples struggle to understand all this (see also Mark 8, verses 31 to 33; 9, verses 30 to 32, and the two stories of blindness at 8, verses 22 to 26 and 10, verses 46 to 52). And not only those disciples- the history of the Church is full of examples where the wisdom of Jesus was abandoned in the urge to “get something done”. Power can achieve short-term goals, but for the long-term, the unspectacular and patient work of community organising is vital. That was the experience of Venezuela before Maduro (see note 5). Even then, what Christopher Hill calls the agony of defeat (see note 6) must often be faced, as Venezuelans have discovered. The temptation then is to abandon the world’s concerns by turning inwards, instead of finding again the inner resources that enable a persistent and effective witness in a world which often appears to understand only the language of rivalry and force. In the face of the power of Rome, the early Christians could still claim to be “more than conquerors” (Romans 8, verses 35 to 37). But they knew (as we have to learn) that justice is never perfectly or permanently established in this world- and attempts to ensure that it is have repeatedly proved counter-productive.
Notes:
- Spain and 5 Latin American Countries Condemn US Action in Venezuela – World En.tempo.co
- Davos 2026: Special address by Mark Carney, PM of Canada | World Economic Forum
- Wandel durch Handel – Wikipedia; Jeffrey Sachs: The Geopolitics of Peace – Speech to the European Parliament – Brave New Europe
- Monroe Doctrine – Wikipedia; Washington Consensus | History, Facts, & Impact | Britannica Money
- A Blessing and a Curse By Matt Wilde | World of Books
- The Experience of Defeat by Christopher Hill | Waterstones
Also:
Mark Mazower on the United Nations: No Enchanted Palace | Princeton University Press
Jacques Baud Sanctioned by EU (with his analysis of the Ukraine war): EU Sanctions Swiss Analyst For Criticism Of The Ukraine Proxy War.
A Year in the Life of Steve Rosenberg, BBC Russia Editor: 8:00 PM: Panorama | BBC One Oxfordshire | 2/2 2026