Venezuela, oil and power: Blinken warns US risks becoming hegemon of Western Hemisphere

Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has questioned Washington's strategic direction following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, warning that the United States risks shifting from global leadership to a hegemonic posture. He said while the operation, in which Maduro was captured, itself was impressive, the clear political endgame was still absent.

"As a military matter, as an intelligence feat, you couldn't help but admire it. It was an incredible operation. So tactically a great success. The real question is strategic, to what end and where does this end, and what is this really about?" he said while speaking with CNBC's Squawk Box.

Maduro's capture: It's not about drugs

Blinken rejected the narrative that the operation was driven by narcotics concerns, arguing that the facts did not support that. "At first, we were told it's about the drugs, but that's clearly not the case. The fact is that most of the drugs coming out of Venezuela are going to Europe. The fentanyl that's killing so many Americans is coming from other places."

He pointed to what he described as contradictory decisions by the current administration. "The guy responsible for far more drugs coming to the United States than the Venezuelan regime, Hernandez, the former president of Honduras, was released from jail by this administration, which was a big mistake. So it's not about that."

Blinken said the stated goals behind Maduro's removal remain unclear — whether democracy, oil, or geopolitical leverage — and cautioned that each path carries its own complications. "Is it about restoring democracy? Maybe. And I hope so, except that so far President Trump has been dismissive of Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader."

US operation in Venezuela: Is it about oil?

On energy interests, Blinken said the outlook remained uncertain despite Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. "So is it about the oil? Maybe. And over time, maybe that plays out well. But we heard the oil execs last week. One of them said, right now, at least Venezuela is 'uninvestable'."

He cited security, economic instability, and production costs as major barriers. "The security situation, the economic situation, the fact that with oil at $60 a barrel, it makes Venezuelan oil really expensive to produce means that that's going to take some doing."

On whether Maduro's removal could strengthen Washington's leverage against rivals such as China and Russia - or instead encourage further global instability - Blinken said the consequences cut both ways. "It is a little bit of both. For sure, the message to would-be aggressors to kind of twist what we've done to their own ends, to their own purposes, to justify their own aggression - whether it's China and Taiwan, whether it's Russia and Ukraine - that's real."

Western Hemisphere - New battlefield

At the same time, he acknowledged that weakening hostile influence in the Western Hemisphere could carry strategic benefits. "At the same time, whether this is having some effect in helping to push China or push Russian influence out, undermining the Cuban regime, that could be very beneficial."

But Blinken said his overriding concern was the broader strategic signal being sent by Washington - one that, in his view, marks a fundamental shift in how the United States sees its role in the world. "What I'm more worried about is the larger story that seems to be telling, which is that we've gone from, in effect, being the leader of the Western world to being the hegemon of the Western Hemisphere. And we're pulling back. We're actually retreating when it comes to China, when it comes to Russia, when it comes to dealing with the challenges that they pose."

He said President Trump's approach reflects a return to rigid spheres of influence, where power - not rules - defines legitimacy. "The president has focused on this spheres-of-influence strategy, where the big guys — and I mean guys in each of their respective areas — get to do what they want in those areas. The Russians, the Chinese, the United States. The strong do what they want. The weak suffer what they must."

Blinken warned that history offers little comfort for such an order. "The problem with that is we've been there before, and we know when the world was organized that way, it didn't lead to peace. It led to conflict. The hegemons always want more. They're trying to grab more."

He said weaker states inevitably respond by banding together, setting the stage for confrontation rather than stability. "The weak in each of these regions try to get strong, and they band together. They make all alliances to take on the hegemon. If you're dealing with autocratic hegemons like Russia or China, they won't simply live and let live when it comes to the United States."