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The Conversation
The Conversation
Monica Duffy Toft, Professor of International Politics and Director of the Center for Strategic Studies, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Can the US ‘run’ Venezuela? Military force can topple a dictator, but it cannot create political authority or legitimacy

Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro gather during a demonstration in Caracas on Jan, 4, 2026. Pedro Mattey/Anadolu via Getty Images

An image circulated over media the weekend of Jan. 3 and 4 was meant to convey dominance: Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, blindfolded and handcuffed aboard a U.S. naval vessel. Shortly after the operation that seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would now “run” Venezuela until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” could be arranged.

The Trump administration’s move is not an aberration; it reflects a broader trend in U.S. foreign policy I described here some six years ago as “America the Bully.”

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