Operation absolute resolve: Lessons from the U.S.-Venezuela crisis and the subtle imperative for African sovereignty

Abstract

This article provides a critical analysis of

Operation Absolute Resolve, the January 2026

U.S. intervention in Venezuela, exploring

how power, authority, and geopolitical

calculation shaped the crisis. It examines the

operation’s impact on political legitimacy,

leadership dynamics, institutional cohesion,

and regional stability, highlighting how

unilateral actions by a global power can

fracture domestic governance and trigger

humanitarian consequences. While the focus

is on the interplay of power and unity within

Venezuela and the broader international

system, the article’s epilogue reflects briefly on

the lessons this episode offers to African states

about safeguarding sovereignty, institutional

resilience, and strategic autonomy in a world

where external coercion can disrupt domestic

order.

1. Introduction

The conflict between the United States

and Venezuela is not merely a bilateral

dispute between a global superpower

and a resource-rich developing state;2

it is a condensed theatre of modern

geopolitics where ideology, oil, sovereignty,

international law, and global power

asymmetries collide.3

 It is a conflict that