بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Why Did America Want to Topple Maduro?
(Translated)
Al-Rayah Newspaper - Issue 581 - 07/01/2026
By: Ustadh Mounis Hameed – Wilayah Iraq
Venezuela has never been far from America’s orbit, but under Nicolás Maduro, it transformed from a country orbiting in its sphere of influence, into a geopolitical thorn in its side. Since then, the conflict has been less about human rights, or the integrity of elections, and more about who holds the reins of power, who controls the wealth, and who draws the maps of influence.
The Trump administration raised the slogan “to make Venezuela great again,” as it has raised similar slogans in other parts of the world. However, historical experience proves that America does not oppose tyranny per se, but rather regimes that defy its will. How many regimes even more repressive than Maduro’s have received its absolute support, simply because they opened their markets, surrendered their sovereignty, and tied their security to America’s will?
Therefore, the problem is not how Maduro governs, but rather for whose benefit and interests does he govern?
Oil is the essence of this silent conflict. Venezuela possesses the world's largest proven oil reserves, a fact sufficient to understand the intensity of the targeting.
The danger, from the American perspective, is compounded by the exclusion of US companies and the redirection of a significant portion of oil exports to China and Russia.
In this sense, Maduro was not merely the president of an oil-rich nation, but the guardian of a strategic resource that had slipped from American control, a transgression considered by the US to be an unforgivable crime in its colonial lexicon.
The rapprochement between Russia and China with Venezuela appears to have constituted a clear violation of the Monroe Doctrine, the principle under which the US has, for over a century, considered Latin America its exclusive sphere of influence. However, Venezuela opened its doors to the Chinese and Russian axes without US permission, and therein lies the real danger: a “rebellious” state hosting US adversaries in its immediate geographic sphere, a strategic challenge deemed unacceptable by the American political mindset.
Furthermore, the US fears that this model could become an enticement for other nations, leading to the spread of the idea of liberation from hegemony and the erosion of the perceived "sanctity" of the American alternative as the only viable option. What is happening in Venezuela strips away all pretense of morality from American rhetoric. The issue has never been about the freedom of a people, but rather about threatened influence, unchecked wealth, and a regime that refused to be subservient. And so the story repeats itself everywhere: whoever deviates from the norm is besieged and then targeted, not because they are tyrants or dictators, but because they chose to be independent.
Unless nations regain their awareness and dismantle the narrative of “salvation” coming from abroad, they will continue to pay the price for conflicts not fought for their sake, but at their expense.
Likewise, the Muslim World must understand the true nature of America. It should not seek its aid or ask for victory from it. Instead, it must rid itself of its hegemony and the treacherous rulers who support it, and achieve true independence. This is achieved by establishing its Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly Guided Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood, so that it may live by it, as Allah says,
[يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اسْتَجِيبُواْ لِلّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُم لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ]
“O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life” [TMQ Surah Al-Anfal: 24], and save the world from America and all colonialist powers.