The dramatic intervention in Venezuela by President Trump, his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and national security adviser John Bolton challenges every critical assumption about this administration’s conduct of foreign policy.

In reversing former President Barack Obama’s indifference toward the socialism destroying our southern neighbor, Trump took a new tough line toward Cuba, put Russia and China on notice that Washington will push back against their maneuvers in America’s backyard, signaling a new era of exerting greater U.S. influence throughout the Western Hemisphere. The president’s team took steps that were subtle, carefully prepared over time, multilateral, and, if effective, will oust a tyrannical populist and replace him with a democratically elected opponent.