SSP Diaries | The threat regime débâcle?

Following the forceful removal of President Maduro of Venezuela, and the huge public outcry from strong US allies across the globe, the US Administration has experienced something unexpected in the aftermath. Their disapproval of the US ‘s actions was made clear by the support of the majority of European States for Greenland. They not only spoke about it but deployed troops on the ground to make sure that their message sunk home.

With all that has taken place, so far, it still is not clear on how things will progress in the immediate, medium or long term for Venezuela or the US for that matter, but that is another story. What might be instructive at this time is that the US’s threat regime machinery has toned down somewhat in the days since ousting Maduro. While appearing to put Cuba in its sights, post Venezuela, I found it strange to read an article that said that the US Administration would be providing aid to the tune of some US$6M to Cuba for post Hurricane Melissa damage recovery. This is being done in the presence of a heightened embargo against Cuba by the US, which forbids any other country from providing them with oil, pharmaceuticals, food or any other needed items, under normal conditions or otherwise.

Regardless of how we want to term the arrangement, what it amounts to is the US being the only entity that can trade with Cuba. The $6M pledged by the US constitutes manufactured goods and services which will all be paid for before delivery to recipients. These items would be supplied to the various US agencies at a cost before being “donated” to Cuba. The ship Jamaica allegedly turned away recently that came to load petroleum, an essential requirement for the people of Cuba, particularly at this time, would have been required to pay for what it received as is normal in trading practices. It was denied the opportunity to trade because, Jamaica like many other countries today is deemed fearful of the consequences of the threat regime of our neighbours to the North.

UNSUCCESSFUL PRESIDENT

The apparent lull in threats, regionally, is not something to be complacent about. Things happen these days for neither rhyme nor reason. There are threats to Europe, threats to Russia and the Ukraine, threats to Nigeria, threats to Mexico, threats to Panama, threats to South Africa and threats to Greenland and many others. The quantity leveraged by one country is unprecedented but true. What is behind all this? I read recently, a poll of President Trump’s popularity done by the Pew Research Centre, Washington DC, USA. It was under the caption ‘ Many Americans lack confidence in Trump on several measures including his ethics in office.’ (29 January 2026). The study revealed a number of findings, for example, fewer people support his policies and plans as opposed to a year ago, 51 per cent believes he lacks the leadership skills for the job, 51 per cent believes he lacks the mental capacity for the job, 50 per cent do not believe he is physically fit, 57 per cent do not think he picks good leaders for jobs, 58 per cent say he doesn’t respect the country’s values, and 60 per cent do not believe he acts ethically in Office. These are not good scores in the political arena especially for a President trying to ensure that his Republican Party can remain the dominant party in the US government system. To cement this point, half the persons polled say that his actions have been worse than expected and 47 per cent of Americans feel he will be an unsuccessful president in the long term.

DWINDLING POPULARITY

For someone with a very large ego, these poll results cannot be encouraging and with this in mind and the fact that the Venezuelan kidnapping did little or nothing to boost his ratings in the medium term, it is logical to expect more actions at home and abroad to bolster personal image and detract from poor popularity and performance showings at home. These are the ones that will speak volumes at the polling stations later this year. Politicians are the masters of the art of deflection. Notwithstanding the pickle the current administration finds itself in, it seems bent on making their plight even worse. Trump’s recent move to erase black history from the records of American history, in Black History month, spells political suicide but that is only if the Afro American population have not woken up to reality.

The threat regime seemed to be failing both internally and externally. It comes as no surprise then that in the middle of dwindling popularity, the US administration, together with Israel, on February 28, 2026, attacked Iran with a view to causing a regime change. The trend continues, but for how long and to what effect? Violent interventions, should that continue, are no longer likely to gain the external support the US so badly needs at this time. Such actions will serve to further isolate the US. Internally, a divided population along current trends perpetuated by the current administration can only serve to hasten its demise as the numbers are indicating. There are many lessons for nations to learn here and perhaps the most important thing is that threats, embargoes, tariffs and sowing the seeds of division, do not work and are not acceptable ways of doing business in today’s world.