Donald Trump launched an unprovoked major military attack just 48 hours after declaring that his New Year’s resolution was “peace on earth.”
Trump, 79, ordered military strikes on targets in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas in the early hours of Saturday. In a sensational Truth Social post, he then claimed to have captured the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The 2 AM sneak attack began just shy of 24 hours after the president appeared to threaten a separate military attack on Iran in a 3 AM Truth Social post.
It is unclear why Trump is attacking Venezuela.
The president claimed that military strikes on Venezuelan boats over the last few months were motivated by the so-called war on drugs. He threatened to expand that campaign onto the mainland last month, but he has also indicated that he is seeking regime change in Caracas, and admitted that U.S. access to Venezuela’s natural resources is also a consideration for his foreign entanglement.
The surprise attack would also appear to clash with Trump’s long-stated obsession with winning the Nobel Peace Prize. The false claim that he has ended eight wars since he came into office has become one of Trump’s go-to riffs during speeches and rambles to the media since he returned to the White House.
He was rebuffed by the Nobel Prize committee for the 2025 prize, which went to a Venezuelan opposition leader, perhaps further explaining his interest in the South American country.
Trump’s desperation for the Nobel Prize was so obvious that the World Cup organizers invented a whole new FIFA Peace Prize to give him ahead of this year’s World Cup, which is being partially hosted in the United States. FIFA is now facing calls to withdraw the award after Trump’s military strikes on Venezuela.
Just 48 hours ago, Trump’s mood had seemed very different.
On New Year’s Eve, he arrived at his Mar-a-Lago gala and was asked by the carefully assembled media if he had a resolution for the New Year.
“I have,” he said. “Peace. Peace on Earth. Peace on Earth.”
