Eduardo Gamarra Americas Insights

Power Without Legitimacy:  Latin America’s Reaction to Washington’s Venezuela Gamble   Eduardo A Gamarra Florida International University   When U.S. forces extracted Nicolás Maduro from Caracas in January 2026, the Trump administration portrayed the operation as proof that American power—and American respect—had been restored. Officials argued that the decisive removal of an authoritarian leader demonstrated renewed U.S. authority in the hemisphere and sent a clear message to adversaries and allies. Public opinion data from Latin America and the Caribbean suggest a far more ambivalent verdict. Regional polling conducted in the weeks after the intervention reveals a crucial distinction: while many Latin Americans welcomed Maduro’s removal, they did not extend that approval to the United States or to Washington’s subsequent decision to co-govern Venezuela with Delcy Rodríguez’s regime. In short, the operation produced a favorable outcome without generating legitimacy. This...