By Anthony Joseph

Venezuela Was the Warning. Greenland May Be the Test.

What happened in Venezuela should not be viewed as a distant geopolitical drama, nor as a one-off intervention justified by extraordinary circumstances. It should be understood for what it is: a warning. A precedent. A glimpse into a new era of American power projection, one that places Canada, Greenland, and much of the hemisphere squarely in its line of sight.

The removal of Nicolás Maduro was not simply about democracy, drug trafficking, or the rule of law. Those were the justifications. The real issue was oil, control of it, leverage over it, and the political power that comes with deciding who gets access and on what terms. Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, and its heavy crude is chemically identical to Canadian bitumen. The parallels between Venezuela and Canada are not incidental. They are structural. And that is precisely why Canadians should be paying close attention.

For years, the Trump administration has demonstrated a willingness to invent threats, exaggerate dangers, and bend reality to suit strategic goals. Venezuela was accused of being run by a “narco-state,” allegedly controlled by a government-wide drug cartel known as the “Cartel de los Soles.” No serious international body ever substantiated that claim in the way it was presented. That does not mean drugs do not pass through Venezuela, as they pass through many countries, but the leap from trafficking routes to branding a sovereign government as a criminal conspiracy was political, not factual.

Now listen carefully to the rhetoric being applied to Canada.

Fentanyl. National security. Border threats. Tariffs justified on the basis of fabricated crises. Canada, long regarded as America’s closest ally, has already been labelled a security risk by the same administration. The factual basis is thin. The political utility is enormous. The pieces are already on the board.

This is why the question “What’s next?” is no longer rhetorical.

The New Imperial Doctrine

Donald Trump has never hidden his worldview. He believes power belongs to those who take it, not those who negotiate it. He has openly spoken about Greenland as something the United States “has to have.” He has threatened Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Iran, and Panama. He has mocked the very idea of multilateralism. What we are witnessing is not random belligerence, it is a doctrine.

Call it the “Donroe Doctrine,” as some observers now do: a twenty-first century revival of hemispheric dominance, where the United States reserves the right to intervene economically, politically, or militarily anywhere in the Western Hemisphere to secure its interests.

Venezuela was the first full demonstration of that doctrine in action.

Greenland may be the next test case.

An autonomous territory of Denmark, Greenland sits at the intersection of Arctic security, rare earth minerals, and future shipping routes. Trump has spoken about it repeatedly, not as a partner or ally, but as a possession waiting to be claimed. Denmark, unlike Canada, has responded forcefully, publicly asserting that Greenland is not for sale and reinforcing its sovereignty in unmistakable terms.

Canada should take note.

Because if Greenland can be threatened, despite Denmark’s NATO membership, then Canada, with its vast resources, Arctic access, and heavy reliance on U.S. trade, is not immune. In fact, Canada may be the ultimate prize.

Oil, Leverage, and Vulnerability

Much has been made of Venezuelan oil as a potential threat to Canada’s energy sector. The reality is more complex. Venezuela’s oil industry is in ruins. Infrastructure has collapsed. Production has fallen from 3.5 million barrels a day to roughly one million, much of it sold through opaque channels under sanctions. Restoring Venezuela’s output would require over $100 billion and at least a decade of sustained investment.

But the danger is not immediate displacement. The danger is leverage.

Even the possibility of Venezuelan oil returning to global markets gives Washington a negotiating weapon. It weakens Canada’s hand before a single barrel flows. It allows U.S. officials to say, credibly or not, that America can reduce its dependence on Canadian energy, and then to act as if that were already true.

We have already seen this tactic used elsewhere. When Canada pointed to its dominance in potash, the Trump administration moved swiftly to cut a deal with Belarus. The goal was not efficiency; it was to strip Canada of bargaining power.

Oil is next.

Canada’s Dangerous Bind

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand responded to the events in Venezuela with caution, some would say excessive caution. Their statements avoided direct criticism of the United States while reaffirming Canada’s belief in international law and Venezuelan self-determination. This balancing act reflects Canada’s uncomfortable reality as a middle power: we depend on rules-based order for our own protection, yet we are deeply exposed to the whims of our largest neighbour.

Fear, not principle, explains much of the silence across Western capitals.

But silence has consequences.

Canada has long opposed Nicolás Maduro’s rule. It supported the Lima Group. It refused to recognize his legitimacy. Yet it also believes, fundamentally, in sovereignty. In the idea that governments cannot be removed by force because a stronger power wants access to resources.

That belief is not moral posturing. It is self-preservation.

Because once the precedent is normalized, no country with valuable resources is safe.

Greenland, NATO, and the Collapse of Rules

Consider the implications if the United States were to coerce or occupy Greenland. Denmark would have no choice but to invoke NATO’s Article 5. But would NATO respond to an American action against a member state? Of course not. No alliance survives that contradiction.

That would be the end of NATO as a meaningful institution.

And once that happens, the post-World War II order collapses entirely. Borders become suggestions. Sovereignty becomes conditional. Power decides.

Canada would not be spared in that world. We share the same resources Trump covets. We have already seen the same false pretexts deployed against us. We have already been told, absurdly, that we threaten U.S. national security.

Venezuela shows how quickly rhetoric becomes action.

A Moment of Choice

This is not about defending Nicolás Maduro. It is not about endorsing socialism or opposing it. It is about rejecting a world in which powerful countries simply take what they want and invent reasons after the fact.

Canada must be clear, publicly and unequivocally, that sovereignty is not negotiable. That international law matters. That resource wealth does not void a nation’s right to self-determination.

Greenland’s fight is Canada’s fight. Venezuela’s fate is a cautionary tale, not a template.

History teaches us that empires rarely stop on their own. They stop when others say no, clearly, collectively, and early.

The question is no longer whether this new imperialism is real. It is.

The only question left is whether Canada will recognize the warning before it becomes the next example.

Anthony Joseph is the publisher of The Caribbean Camera newspaper. He writes on politics, culture, and the intersection of race and democracy in Canada.

#Venezuela #Canada #Greenland #Geopolitics #OilPolitics #Sovereignty #ArcticSecurity #USCanadaRelations #Imperialism #WorldAffairs #CaribbeanCanadianPerspective