Ambassador Heine Answers “What Does Trump Want with Venezuela?”
In an interview for The National, a flagship of CBC News, Ambassador Jorge Heine was interviewed by Eli Glasner to unpack and understand exactly what President Trump wants by combating Venezuela.
Recently, there have been several U.S. strikes against Venezuelan boats, an increased military presence off the coast of Latin America, and heightened Venezuelan military training on land. Throughout the segment, Glasner questioned several possible motivations Trump has for antagonizing Venezuela and debunked the fears of fentanyl, which is made in Mexico, and of cocaine, majority of which is made in Colombia and exported to Europe.
Glasner turns to power acting as a motivator. Amid these tensions, Heine referenced the Monroe doctrine, a 1823 policy that has gained recent attention, that warned that any future European colonization in the Americas would be seen as a threat, “Many people are calling this revival as the Donroe doctrine, on how President Trump has sort of redeployed this notion.” He continues, “The Monroe doctrine evokes very negative feelings in Latin America. It is associated with the worst aspects of U.S. imperialism over the past two centuries. So it is not exactly a good way to make friends in the region.”
The United States’ competition with China adds to this complicated relationship. Heine explained, “To give you a number, trade between China and Latin America is 2000 was $12 billion. Last year in 2024, it was $518 billion.” He noted that China, not the U.S., is the #1 trading partner for South America, and is Venezuela’s top customer for oil. In response to a theory that the U.S. is trying to counteract China via this activity in the Caribbean, Heine elaborated, “There’s evidence of that and, obviously, the Maduro regime is quite close to China. If you think that, with this activity, the U.S. will increase the number of friends in Latin America, I would say that is a very questionable proposition.”
Additionally, it might be an appeal to voters in Florida. Heine noted, “There is a very significant Latino population in Florida. There are Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and all sorts of people. Most of them have strong anti-Maduro feelings.” Heine connected Republicans loosing Latin Americans votes due to increased deportation measures as a motivator, “This attack on Venezuela and trying to get rid of Maduro is a way of appealing to that electoral base.” Currently, the Venezuelan population are amid humanitarian and economic crises, where Maduro is attacking free speech. In the recent election, the Maduro regime also claimed victory even though the opposition claimed it received the majority of votes. In an interview with an anonymous Venezuelan journalist, it was stated that people would quietly welcome any U.S. action to remove Maduro.
Click here to watch the full interview.
A former research professor at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Jorge Heine is a diplomat, international relations scholar, and lawyer. He has served as an ambassador of Chile to China, India, and South Africa. Heine has written over fifteen books, including The Non-Aligned World: Striking Out in an Era of Great Power Competition (2025), which provides insights on how the Global South can navigate the changing diplomatic landscape amid the U.S.-China rivalry.