 This video briefly explains how the Mandro doctrine became the justification for American unilateralism and Interventions in Latin America and I'll use some of the recent developments in Venezuela as an example to explain January 10 2019 several heads of state including the presidents of Cuba Nicaragua Bolivia Nel Salvador Attended the swearing-in ceremony of Nicolás Maduro for his second term as the president of Venezuela However, many nations including the United States did not recognize Maduro as a legitimate leader and nearly two weeks later on January 23rd President Trump recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the legitimate president and in March 2019 in an interview with national security adviser John Bolton CNN's Jake Tapper asked him why President Trump opposes Maduro when he has close ties to authoritarian Governments in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE Listen to John Bolton's response See as broad a coalition as we can put together to replace Maduro to replace the whole corrupt regime That's what we're trying to do. Well, certainly Maduro is nobody that I would defend in any way Well, that's good to hear but do you do not see that the United States support for other brutal dictators around the world undermines the The credibility of the argument you're making no I don't think it does. I think it's separate and I think look in this administration We're not afraid to use the phrase Monroe doctrine. This this is a country in our hemisphere It's been the objective of American presidents going back to Ronald Reagan to have a completely democratic hemisphere I mentioned back in late at the end of last year that we're looking very much at the troika of tyranny Including Cuba and Nicaragua as well as Maduro part of the problem in Venezuela is the heavy Cuban presence 20 to 25,000 Cuban security officials by reports that have been in the public that this is the sort of thing that that we find unacceptable The doctrine that Bolton cited dates back to the presidency of James Monroe the fifth president of the United States In his annual message to Congress in December 1823 President Monroe for warned European nations against interfering in the affairs of newly independent Latin American nations This portion of the address about use foreign affairs is known as the Monroe doctrine Although the statements were made by president Monroe The policy was actually drafted by John Quincy Adams who was a secretary of state and this declaration of policy towards Europe did not Become known as the Monroe doctrine until 1850 President Monroe's annual address included several paragraphs about foreign policy in the Western hemisphere Many contemporary American newspapers published the entire text of the president's speech as well as analytical articles about foreign affairs For the most part newspaper articles praise the president's statements on foreign affairs But to understand how the Monroe doctrine became the symbol of American hegemony in the Western hemisphere We must look at some of the events that prompted such a declaration First the war of 1812 It was an unusual war and there are at least four distinct versions of it the British the American the Canadian and the Native American version Although the war of 1812 was part of a larger European conflict the United States became involved in a war against Britain This was America's second and last war against Britain and it echoed many of the issues and ideologies of the American Revolution The war ended in a stalemate on the battlefield and in December 1815 under the mediation of the Russian czar Britain and the United States Negotiated the terms of peace and sign the Treaty of Ghent This peace treaty did not resolve the maritime issues that caused the war Instead it merely provided for returning to the state that existed before the war The treaty contained nothing to suggest that the United States had achieved its goals While there were no concrete gains for the United States the war of 1812 Produced a new generation of American generals and propelled four men to the presidency James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison The war also boosted American self-confidence and encouraged American expansionism Second in 1821 the Russians are proclaimed that all the area north of the 51st parallel and extending 100 miles into the Pacific would be off limits to non-Russians Americans became very wary of Russian expansion southward from Alaska towards Oregon and John Quincy Adams refused to accept this claim Eventually in 1824 the Russians and Americans managed to settle this dispute to their mutual satisfaction Third in Central and South America revolutions against Spanish rule had been underway for some time President Monroe feared that Spain would try to reclaim sovereignty in Latin America Meanwhile, the British were interested in ensuring the demise of Spanish colonialism and mercantilism in order to promote British industrial development Britain wanted access to Latin American markets for its goods. In fact, British Foreign Secretary George Canning Formerly proposed that Britain and the United States unite on a joint warning to deter Europeans from intervening in Latin America Although President Monroe and Adams recognized that mercantilism posed an obstacle to economic expansion the United States opposed cooperation with Great Britain and Adams noted that the British were not committed to recognizing the new Latin American Republics and suspected that the British had Imperial motivations themselves Adams this contended that joint action with Britain could eventually limit American influence and economic growth in Latin America Who consulted with former presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison who urged him to cooperate with Great Britain? But eventually President Monroe followed the advice of John Quincy Adams and laid out an independent course for the United States President Monroe outlined three main concepts of the doctrine that were designed to signify a clear break Between the New World and Europe one separate spheres of influence for the Americas and Europe to Non-colonization and three non intervention The bilateral statement proposed by the British ultimately became a unilateral declaration by the United States President Monroe stated that the Western Hemisphere was henceforth close to further European colonization Monroe outlined two separate spheres of influence the Americas and Europe The independent lands of the Western Hemisphere would be solely the domain of the United States If a European nation tried to control or interfere in the affairs of a nation in the Western Hemisphere The United States would view it as a hostile act in Exchange the United States pledged to avoid involvement in European affairs The United States pledged to recognize and avoid interference in the existing European colonies in the Western Hemisphere The Monroe doctrine met with tacit British approval The British Royal Navy enforced it as part of the wider Pax Britannica to secure neutrality of the seas and This was in line with the developing British policy of laser fare against mercantilism Outside the United States President Monroe's policy did not attract much attention because the United States Was not powerful enough to enforce it in the early 19th century However in 1865 the Monroe doctrine was invoked to support Mexican President Benito Juarez To lead a successful revolt against Emperor Maximilian who had been appointed by the French government The Monroe doctrines greatest extension came with the Roosevelt corollary in 1904 Which announced that henceforth European nations would not be allowed to use force to collect debts or to them by Latin American nations Teddy Roosevelt promptly proclaimed the right of the United States to exercise an international police power to curb such wrongdoing As a result US Marines were sent into Santa Domingo in 1904 Nicaragua in 1911 and Haiti in 1915 to keep Europeans out and most recently in March 2019 John Bolton invoked the Monroe doctrine to extend support to Juan Guaidó So who is Venezuela's leader Is it Nicolá Maduro the man who's ruled since the death of Hugo Chavez six years ago Or is it the opposition leader Juan Guaidó who declared himself caretaker president and swore to end what he calls a dictatorship The United States and Canada were quick to back. Mr. Guaidó along with Brazil Argentina and Colombia It all comes as Venezuela's long political and economic crisis Grimes on the economy is in free fall In recent years millions of Venezuelans have given up hope and left the country With huge crowds on the streets of Caracas this all feels like the most serious threat. Mr. Maduro has ever faced Of course, he has been through some of this before there were months of street protests in 2014 and again in 2017 each time the authorities cracked down Thousands were arrested and scores killed But the pressures which drove people onto the streets before have all got worse the shortages the hyperinflation The sense that Venezuela is falling apart The other difference is the international reaction America has warned the authorities that all options are on the table if they resort to violence Canada says the Maduro government is now a dictatorship and the EU is calling for the start of a political process That leads to free and credible elections Russia has accused the west of gross interference and of course a long history of US involvement in Latin America May mean that Washington has to tread carefully Will Mr. Maduro simply tough it out again as he has before all eyes are on the military if they remain loyal Then another bloody crackdown is likely if they follow Juan Guaidó then Mr. Maduro's days are numbered And if they're divided then as well as crisis could get a whole lot worse