“Rest up. It’s only going to get worse.” – A New Year’s message from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Well, it certainly did not take long for that prophecy to become reality. Barely into the New Year, the United States, on the direction of President Donald Trump, invaded Venezuela, kidnapped (Trump’s own words) its President, Nicolas Maduro, and with boots on the ground, began to “Run Venezuela.” (again, Trump’s own words).
Now let’s get this up front. By all indicators, Nicolas Maduro is a really bad dude. He stole the presidency of his country, he ended democracy there, he ruled by oppression, and he is reputed to be a major drug lord. There is nothing good that can be said about him.
Venezuelans are celebrating Maduro’s downfall and many others around the world are doing so as well. Donald Trump is being praised in a number of quarters where he otherwise would not be. It will be no surprise to me if his polling numbers in the United States, at the moment somewhat dismal, improve considerably.
But there is a much darker side here that must not be lost in the jubilation of taking down a bad guy.
By any definition, Donald Trump has declared war on Venezuela. He has occupied that country, seized its resources and governance, and done so without adhering to the rule of law, both internationally and within the United States.
His supporters are saying this was not an act of war but simply the extraction of a really bad individual who is harmful to the United States. They point to former extractions such as Bin Laden and Noriega as precedents for what has happened in Venezuela, but they are wrong. In those instances, there were no wholesale invasions of sovereign countries. It was simply in and out with no warlike or takeover repercussions to the countries involved.
Donald Trump has unilaterally invaded Venezuela and put it under American control. He has done this without the consent of Congress and without their prior knowledge, both of which are required under the American Constitution.
And since the invasion of Venezuela, President Trump has doubled down. When the takeover of that country comes to the United Nations, as it inevitably will, Trump has announced that American aid will be cut off to any nation that votes against the United States. As well, he has publicly made noises that Cuba and Iran may be next on his agenda.
Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and when it is waged contrary to the rule of law, it becomes a big problem. Most importantly, without the rule of law, there is no democracy.
The immediate problem here is that the American Congress is inherently gutless. As a body, they will not stand up to Donald Trump, and they effectively allow him to override their constitutional powers and responsibilities. Congress alone can rein in Donald Trump, but they refuse to do so.
There are those who believe that midterm congressional elections this Fall will change the balance of power and consequently control Trump. They are dreaming. The American Constitution allows the President alone to cancel or postpone elections if the country is at war. In my view, Trump will not hesitate to create that war and use that power, even as he ignores other requirements of the Constitution, if he believes mid-term elections could go against him.
If he is allowed to get away with it, the precedent that Donald Trump has set by unilaterally invading Venezuela is frightening. It allows every president, every prime minister, every country to become a target of those who disagree with them or covet their resources. It enables and even encourages countries like Russia and China to invade sovereign nations like Ukraine and Taiwan for their own territorial purposes. It also raises the serious threat that it will not stop there.
My chief concern as we enter 2026 is that the global stability of the past six decades is disappearing, and we are moving dangerously closer to another world conflict. Presently, there are at least two dozen battles or skirmishes taking place globally. In addition to Venezuela, among these are Ukraine, Taiwan, Iran, Nigeria, the Middle East, parts of Europe, and too many others to mention here. When does this all rupture into global conflict?
I hope I am wrong, but I truly believe the global challenges we face now are greater than any we have faced since the Second World War. At the moment, the United States, Russia, and China are making a pretty good case that they can do whatever they want, wherever they want.
That is not a good thing, and it overwhelms other serious challenges that must be faced in 2026 like climate change, rampant antisemitism, the unilateral imposition of tariffs, personal political aggrandizement, revenge politics and Immigration reform, to name a few.
I was struck by a comment from a reader, Lisa Brooks, on another article on Doppler. “My pet peeve is how easily serious reflection can slide into quiet acceptance of things we would once have questioned distinctly.”
Perhaps in 2026, that is the most important issue for us all to come to grips with and to fix.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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