The capture of Nicolás Maduro by US forces—and President Trump’s subsequent warnings to Cuba and Colombia—has sparked a debate that echoes the ideas of Thucydides, the father of political realism, across the centuries.
Through his History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides provides a framework for analyzing the “Trump Corollary” and the potential long-term risks of enforcing absolute will in Latin America.
Thucydides’ Melian Dialogue and Trump
The core of Thucydides’ theory is found in the Melian Dialogue. When Athens, a superpower, demanded that the small island of Melos (Milos) surrender, the Athenians famously dismissed appeals to justice, stating: “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”
President Trump’s 2026 declaration that the US will “run Venezuela” until a “proper transition” occurs, while citing the “Don-roe Doctrine,” is a modern textbook application of this logic. By bypassing international law and the UN Charter to seize Maduro, the US has signaled that, in the Western Hemisphere, power is the only relevant currency. Thucydides would recognize this as a state discarding “the common protection of law” in favor of raw interests.
Thucydides: The danger of overreaching
Thucydides warns that successful enforcement of power often leads to pleonexia, the insatiable desire for more. In 415 BC, after defeating Melos, Athens launched the disastrous Sicilian Expedition, believing their power made it invincible. Today, we see a parallel in the expansion of US threats. Following the Maduro capture, the administration has:
- Targeted Colombia: President Trump has threatened military action against the government of Gustavo Petro, citing “cocaine factories” and calling him a “sick man.”
- Pressured Cuba: Using the collapse of the Maduro regime as leverage, Washington has stated that Cuba is “ready to fall,” signaling a shift toward forced regime change on the island.
Thucydides’ lesson is clear: when a superpower begins to see every regional disagreement as a military problem, it risks overextending its resources and moral capital. By threatening Colombia, a traditional ally, the US risks turning “neutrals into enemies,” exactly as the Melians warned the Athenians.
The collapse of “soft power”
For Thucydides, power is not just about ships and soldiers; it is about legitimacy. When Athens began acting as a “tyrant city,” its allies stopped following out of shared interests and began obeying only out of fear. The 2026 US actions have resulted in a sharp divide:
- Domestic approval: High-profile supporters in the US celebrate the removal of a “narco-terrorist.”
- International resentment: Countries like Spain and Brazil have condemned the breach of sovereignty. Thucydides argued that a state that rules by force alone eventually faces a “coalition of the weak.” If the US continues to treat Latin American nations as dependencies rather than partners, it may find that while it has “captured” Maduro, it has lost the region.
Thucydides did not believe that being powerful was a crime, but he did believe that unrestrained power is a trap. By enforcing its will so decisively in Venezuela and threatening the same in Bogotá and Havana, the United States is testing whether it can rewrite the rules of the 21st century. History, however, suggests that those who rely solely on the “law of the strong” often find that strength is a fleeting asset.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
