The Conquest of Caracas: Why Zeihan’s ‘End of the World’ Just Became Venezuela’s Reality

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The Conquest of Caracas: Why Zeihan’s ‘End of the World’ Just Became Venezuela’s Reality

This weekend, the world watched as the Trump administration executed Operation Absolute Resolve—a massive military strike involving over 150 aircraft that ended with the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in their Caracas "fortress."

While the administration frames this as a "narco-terrorism" sting, the truth is far more structural, more desperate, and more dangerous. To understand what is actually happening, you have to look past the "law and order" propaganda and into the pages of Peter Zeihan’s The End of the World Is Just the Beginning.

The Zeihan Framework: Deglobalization and Resource Wars

In his book, Zeihan argues that the "Global Order"—protected by the U.S. Navy since 1945—is collapsing. As the U.S. pulls back from policing the world, we are entering an era of deglobalization. In this new world, geography and resources are everything.

Venezuela is the ultimate Zeihan case study. Despite having the world's largest oil reserves, it is a country that:

1. Cannot feed itself: It imports 80% of its food.

2. Cannot maintain its own infrastructure: Its oil is "sludge" that requires foreign distillates and expertise to move.

3. Is geographically isolated: Its population centers are separated from its food production by rugged mountains.

Zeihan’s book predicts that in a deglobalized world, countries that cannot secure their own energy and food will simply cease to function as states. By launching this attack, the Trump administration isn't just "arresting a criminal"; they are accelerating the collapse of a nation to secure its resources for the "America First" era.

The Propaganda vs. The Reality

The administration is flooding the airwaves with a specific narrative to keep you from seeing the imperial nature of this move.

• The Narrative: "We are stopping a narco-terrorist."

• The Zeihan Reality: As Zeihan notes, while the Maduro regime is certainly corrupt, the vast majority of drugs entering the U.S. come through Colombia and Mexico. The "narco-terrorism" label is the legal fig leaf used to justify a regime change that is actually about securing oil and minerals in a world where global supply chains are breaking.

• The Narrative: "We are bringing freedom and democracy."

• The Zeihan Reality: Zeihan warns that a U.S. intervention in Venezuela is a "multi-year, multi-billion-dollar project" with a population that is "armed to the teeth." There is no "orderly transition" coming. When the U.S. blockades ports—as it did last month—food imports stop. Within days, you have food riots. Within months, you have the total breakdown of civilization.

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The 'Don-Roe' Doctrine: Colonialism 2.0

During his Mar-a-Lago press conference this weekend, Trump invoked a new "Don-Roe Doctrine," a mutation of the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine. He stated plainly: "American dominance in the western hemisphere will never be questioned again."

This is the "End of the World" strategy in action. The administration is betting that as the rest of the world falls into chaos, the U.S. can retreat into a "Fortress Americas," where we militarily seize the resources of our neighbors to maintain our own lifestyle.

They aren't "running the country" until a transition occurs; they are liquidating a sovereign state. Trump has already bragged that U.S. oil companies will be moving in to "rebuild" the industry. In Zeihan’s terms, this is the transition from Global Order to Imperial Extraction.

What This Means for You

As of this morning, Caribbean airspace is only just beginning to reopen after a weekend of total chaos that saw hundreds of flights canceled and thousands of travelers stranded. But the travel delays are the least of our worries.

If Zeihan is right, this is only the beginning of a massive international energy shock. By "breaking the seal" on seizing shadow fleet tankers and capturing heads of state, the U.S. has signaled to the world that international law is officially dead.

The administration wants you to focus on the "precision" of the 150-aircraft raid. We need to focus on the millions of people now living in a decapitated state with no food, no electricity, and no clear path forward other than being a corporate colony.

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