Nournews: Trump’s media behavior regarding Venezuela — particularly his claim of cooperation with Delcy Rodríguez — is a deliberate attempt to downplay the failure of the project to restructure the country’s political order. The White House had previously sought to display strength by exaggerating the likelihood of Nicolás Maduro’s abduction and the imminent collapse of Caracas’s ruling system. However, the continued coherence of Venezuela’s political structure and the sustained popular support for Maduro dismantled that narrative.
In this context, Trump’s shift toward the implicit acceptance of the continued role of Maduro-aligned forces represents a form of concealed retreat, repackaged as “closeness and cooperation.” The CIA’s classified assessment portraying Rodríguez as a more stable option than the opposition effectively confirms the failure of the maximum-pressure campaign and the rapid-overthrow scenario.
The War–Peace Binary: A Worn-Out Tool of Coercion
Trump continues to rely on the familiar “threat-and-enticement” model — a pattern visible in Gaza, Ukraine, and now Venezuela. On one hand, he threatens a repetition of Maduro’s alleged fate; on the other, he promises progress and prosperity in exchange for cooperation. This demonstrates that the White House still employs the binary logic of war and peace as an instrument of submission.
Requests to halt oil sales to America’s adversaries and cooperate in counter-narcotics efforts are part of this same balancing tactic. Yet, the reality is that this instrument has lost much of its former effectiveness and reflects strategic desperation more than power. The extension of the projected timeline for regime change — from the claimed 30 days to 18 months — is itself an indirect admission of this policy failure.
Trump Between Public Pressure and Congress
Inside the United States, Trump’s unilateralism has faced growing resistance. Congress is seeking to limit presidential war powers, while public protests across several states have increased the political costs of foreign adventurism. Trump’s remarks on NBC that the U.S. is “not in a state of war with Venezuela” represent a clear attempt to calm the domestic environment.
The acceptance of the continued role of Maduro’s allies is not a voluntary choice, but rather a necessity born out of failure — a component of broader domestic crisis management. However, the gradual exposure of the propagandistic nature of the earlier claims about Maduro may intensify internal opposition and deepen the rift between the White House, Congress, and public opinion.
Global Disillusionment and the Signs of Declining Unilateralism
On the international stage, reactions to U.S. actions point to Washington’s growing isolation. Broad support for Venezuela’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the attendance of foreign officials at Rodríguez’s inauguration, and the condemnation of aggression in the UN Security Council all underscored the United States’ failure to build consensus.
By now effectively recognizing Venezuela’s existing governing structure, Trump is attempting to reduce global pressure and reframe military aggression as “limited political transition.” This discursive retreat is the product of the heavy costs imposed on the United States by Trump’s political narcissism and imprudence.
Taken together, these developments indicate that the global order is moving beyond American unilateralism — and that threat-based policies are no longer capable of halting the decline of U.S. power.