What CEOs Ought to Know Regarding the New ‘Donroe’ Doctrine

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  • In today’s CEO Daily: energy editor Jordan Blum analyzes the “Donroe” doctrine.
  • The big story: Allies have difficulty responding to Trump’s aggression.
  • The markets: Declining globally.
  • Plus: All the news and office gossip from .

Good morning. In the chaos since the U.S. attacked Venezuela and shockingly arrested or “kidnapped” (as the president put it) leader Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump targeted Venezuela’s oil—and then threatened action against Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, and Greenland. The U.S. State Department declared, “This is our hemisphere.” And Trump aide Stephen Miller said the U.S. might next seize Greenland, stating that we live in a “real world” ruled by strength, force, and power.

Here’s what leaders should know about the “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine—which Trump renamed the “Donroe” doctrine—to dominate the Western Hemisphere and exert influence over it for national security reasons.

Welcome to the era of ‘petro diplomacy’

Venezuela was evidently a warning to the hemisphere and the world, says Dan Pickering, founder of the Pickering Energy Partners consulting and research firm. Why now? The U.S. leads the world in oil and natural gas production, but its industries are maturing. Meanwhile, the U.S. needs assistance with critical minerals supply chains dominated by China. “Anything to keep more production close and friendly, I think we’d like to do,” Pickering told . However, “Any subsequent military step [beyond Venezuela] seems much harder to justify.”

Some worry Trump’s move could embolden our enemies

“These are neoconservative fantasies. People don’t like their governments, but they really dislike the U.S. coming in and telling them what to do,” observes David Goldwyn, Atlantic Council fellow and State Department special envoy for international energy in the Obama administration. Military action against Venezuela doesn’t deter China and Russia; instead, it emboldens and encourages them to act against Taiwan and Ukraine respectively, he said.

It will take years for U.S. companies to see a profit in Venezuela

Although Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves, its deteriorated industry produces less than 1% of the world’s oil. Trump can claim that U.S. oil companies are returning to Venezuela, but doing so is risky and requires tens of billions of dollars in expenses over several years before it could become profitable. —Jordan Blum

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