On January 3, 2026, acting out of sadistic greed, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, ordered his military forces to strike Venezuela, capture the nation’s president and his wife, and seize control of the country’s oil, natural resources, and drug trade. Does Trump not act like a narcissist who suffers his past defeats as agonizing traumas, after which he seeks revanchist satisfaction in his sadistic greed—in a way that humiliates the opponent—to conquer whatever he desires? Trump’s mental state, a darkness marked by sadistic greed and revanchism, once again reached its manifestation in Venezuela through military actions that Trump himself calls the "Donroe Doctrine." The U.S. strike on Venezuela was truly a "path of lawlessness" that the rest of the world has been forced to watch helplessly from the sidelines [Mattila, Jan 3, 2026]. In Trump’s actions, there shone what psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan would call jouissance—a painful pleasure that demands the constant breaking of the other’s subjectivity.
Trump’s actions were not merely geopolitics; they were the desperate attempt of a 79-year-old man to write himself into history by any means necessary, a kind of culmination of "old man syndrome." Trump’s sadistic greed was not just directed at resources; it was a desire to see the opponent completely humiliated. The Russian military media was correct in analyzing that this was a war that could be foreseen in advance [Pshenichnikov, Jan 4, 2026]. The Russian Federation Armed Forces’ television and radio company "ZVEZDA" published Igor Pshenichnikov’s analysis of how Trump revived the Monroe Doctrine, but now bearing Trump’s own name and purpose [Pshenichnikov, Jan 4, 2026]. In Trump’s doctrine, one can see the "cold and cruel dominance" described by Jeff Sinn, which conservative authoritarianism often craves. Trump’s true interest was oil, and he tore away his anti-drug cartel facade just before the strike [Pshenichnikov, Jan 4, 2026]. Trump directly claimed that Venezuelan oil belonged to America and that it had been stolen from them during the era of Hugo Chavez [Pshenichnikov, Jan 4, 2026].
Moscow professor Andrei Manoilo assessed even before the strike that Trump is driven by pure business interests and a desire to replace drug cartels with operators loyal to himself [Baeva, Dec 9, 2025]. For Trump, toppling the Venezuelan administration was a "commercial project" where the Marines served as his personal tool [Baeva, Dec 9, 2025]. Trump’s sadism was a clinical example of the sadistic perversion described by De Masi, where another human or state is reduced to a mere object. Thus, after the strike, Trump enjoyed his power and took photos with the captured Maduro, as the newspaper Pravda aptly noted [Stepushova, Jan 4, 2026]. Stepushova rightfully asked whether Maduro’s imprisonment was a fatal mistake for the United States or the beginning of a new era of colonialism [Stepushova, Jan 4, 2026]. The Americans seemed to enjoy their mastery, even though no one in Venezuela celebrated liberation from tyranny in the streets [Stepushova, Jan 4, 2026].
Trump’s sadism took visual form in the humiliating images he spread on social media. Olga Korol analyzed on Russia’s Tsargrad TV how the victors published photos of Maduro in a Nike tracksuit and handcuffs just to humiliate him further [Korol, Jan 4, 2026]. This was a pure "mind operation" where Trump sought to strip Maduro of his human dignity. Korol reminded that the world had not seen such arrogance and violation of the UN Charter in a long time [Korol, Jan 4, 2026]. The kidnapping of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores was carried out in just half an hour by Delta Force [Korol, Jan 4, 2026]. Now they were being held in a Brooklyn federal prison, the same place as P. Diddy and other "star prisoners" [Korol, Jan 4, 2026]. Trump had opened a portal to total lawlessness [Korol, Jan 4, 2026].
From a psychohistorical perspective, the strike was also a means to forget Trump’s own failures. Alexandr Stepanov of Tsargrad TV pointed out how the case of Ukraine and even the recent terrorist attacks on Putin’s residence in Valdai were forgotten with this new operation [Stepanov, Jan 4, 2026]. According to Stepanov, the kidnapping of the head of an independent state was a mere pawn in a grand game where Americans care only for their own interests [Stepanov, Jan 4, 2026]. Civilians had become cynical pawns in high politics [Stepanov, Jan 4, 2026]. Trump’s action was also a signal to Kyiv, and Ukrainian soldiers were rightfully gripped by fear [RIA Novosti, Jan 4, 2026]. Trump always calculates the costs and benefits of power without moral commitments [RIA Novosti, Jan 4, 2026].
Sadistic greed was also fueled by the desire to control global energy resources. In the "ZVEZDA" publication, Igor Pshenichnikov stated that the seizure of Venezuelan oil fields was part of a plan also linked to a potential attack on Iran [Pshenichnikov, Jan 4, 2026]. For Washington, Venezuelan oil was vital to survive a potential collapse of energy exports from the Middle East [Pshenichnikov, Jan 4, 2026]. Daniel Tarpy also noted that it was about breaking China’s influence and controlling rare earth metals [Tarpy, Jan 4, 2026]. "We can agree that this is not about drugs," Tarpy criticized Trump [Tarpy, Jan 4, 2026]. Trump’s imperialist plan was clear; he spoke of the Western Hemisphere as if it were his own [Reunamäki, Jan 4, 2026]. According to Reunamäki, Trump builds his legacy with blood and seeks opportunities on the international arena to satisfy his ego [Reunamäki, Jan 4, 2026].
In Venezuela, the administration is still trying to resist; acting president Delcy Rodriguez demanded Maduro’s immediate release [RT News, Jan 4, 2026]. Rodriguez vowed that Venezuela would never again become anyone’s colony or slave [RT News, Jan 4, 2026]. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed firm solidarity with the Venezuelan people in the face of this armed aggression [RT News, Jan 4, 2026]. At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry called the U.S. justifications "groundless excuses" [Pshenichnikov, Jan 4, 2026]. Russia demanded that the U.S. release the president of a sovereign country and his spouse immediately [Zakharov, Jan 3, 2026]. Trump’s administration had even used a CIA agent within the Venezuelan government to facilitate the kidnapping for a $50 million reward [Sergeeva, Jan 3, 2026].
Finland’s reaction fills the hearts of Finns with shame. President of the Republic Alexander Stubb gave his full support to the attack because he did not consider Maduro’s administration "legitimate" [Hakala, Jan 4, 2026]. Stubb emphasized the birth of a democratic administration, even though the strike violated all principles of international law [Hakala, Jan 4, 2026]. Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen also humbly repeated Washington’s narrative about Maduro’s "lack of legitimacy" [Kuuskoski, Jan 3, 2026]. Finland’s political leadership is not just "neutral"; their inability to feel anything for Trump’s victims is itself part of a sadistic power structure. It is intentional "moral numbness," where a person stops seeing the suffering of another because it is politically expedient. Henri Vanhanen rightly warned that the United States is opening Pandora’s box [Seppä, Jan 3, 2026]. This should be the final wake-up call for Europe regarding Trump’s unpredictability [Seppä, Jan 3, 2026].
Trump himself arrogantly announced he would take over Venezuela’s oil reserves and invite American companies to repair the infrastructure [Seppä, Jan 3, 2026]. "We’re going to ask the big oil companies to spend billions of dollars," Trump had boasted [Seppä, Jan 3, 2026]. This displays what Roderick Long called "state exploitation": the stronger party dictates terms to those in a completely vulnerable position. Over 150 aircraft participated in the strike, which lasted less than 30 minutes, leaving behind dead civilians and soldiers [Bertelli, Jan 4, 2026]. Michele Bertelli ironically called Trump a "pacifist" who in reality orders strikes around the world [Bertelli, Jan 4, 2026]. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the strike a "dangerous precedent" because the rules of international law were not respected [Suutari, Jan 4, 2026]. Guterres urged dialogue, but it is well known that a sadist does not negotiate with his victim [Suutari, Jan 4, 2026].
Trump’s sadism is tied to narcissistic trauma and the need for revanchism. The failed Operation Gideon in 2020 had remained an unfinished "Gestalt" in Trump’s mind that had to be closed with raw force [Baeva, Dec 9, 2025]. Now he wanted to show he was "the victor of at least one authoritarian regime" before leaving the stage [Baeva, Dec 9, 2025]. Empathy was replaced by efficiency and human dignity by market value. Trump demanded various regions of the planet as his own fiefdom; this was already documented in the December security strategy [Pshenichnikov, Jan 4, 2026]. Everything was clear: a war that was foreseeable, a war that was the culmination of sadistic greed [Pshenichnikov, Jan 4, 2026].
In Venezuela, weapons were already being distributed (likely with American assistance) to "colectivos" groups, suggesting the threat of civil war [RuNews24, Dec 25, 2025]. Trump’s intention to get "oil flowing as it should" was the peak of imperialism [Reunamäki, Jan 4, 2026]. One must not forget Morrison’s words on shame as the flip side of narcissism; Trump’s sadism was perhaps only an attempt to escape an old man’s own shame of mortality and insignificance. Trump wanted to go down in history as a great conqueror, though he could be analyzed only as a sick old man who had broken the architecture of international law [Pshenichnikov, Jan 4, 2026]. The world was approaching World War III, and the consequences are global, not just regional [Pshenichnikov, Jan 4, 2026].
Trump’s sadistic greed is visible as a symptom of the collapse of the Western mind. Trump’s "Donroe Doctrine" was just a new name for an old injustice [Reunamäki, Jan 4, 2026]. The United States had opened a portal to a world where law was only the right of the strongest [Korol, Jan 4, 2026]. The bowing of Finland’s leadership before this new emperor felt nauseating [Hakala, Jan 4, 2026]. Possibly, someday history would judge today as a grim continuation of imperialism [Mattila, Jan 3, 2026]. But right now, in January 2026, sadism ruled the world stage: this sight was as terrifying as theological treatises on hell, and Trump had made hell a reality in Venezuela. This would be only the beginning. The old man wanted to write his name in blood before the sun set for the last time. It was his sadistic legacy to the world. And the world seemed only to watch from the sidelines.
One must not forget that under the pressure of this old man (Donald Trump) and following its NATO integration, the EU has become even more twisted in its attachment to blood. The NATO summit held in The Hague in June 2025 marked a turning point in European and broader global security policy, formalizing a direction toward even stronger militarization (Ellyatt 2025; Kirby 2025). The decision to raise military spending to five percent of GDP by 2035—of which 3.5% is direct military spending and 1.5% broader security-related infrastructure—has been described as a "quantum leap" (Bayer & Gray 2025; Ellyatt 2025). This shift is not merely defensive; it is a deeply political and economic choice that turns European welfare states into war economies, accelerating poverty and increasing the risk of world war (Lievemaa 2025; Benjamin 2025; Schwarz 2025). The sharp increase in NATO military spending is a result of U.S. pressure, driven particularly by Donald Trump’s demands (Ellyatt 2025; Friedrich 2025; Global Times 2025). Interests built against Russia using Ukraine and general geopolitical instability have acted as a catalyst for this development, but critics question whether this is a genuine strengthening of security or the promotion of the interests of the U.S. military-industrial complex (Mang 2025; Synergia Foundation 2025).
The public fawning of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte toward Trump, where he even called the president "daddy," has revealed the subordinate position of European leaders before the United States (Reunamäki 2025; Samoilova 2025; Tengely-Evans 2025). Reunamäki (2025) described the atmosphere of the NATO summit as a "farce" where European leaders "Finlandize" their foreign policy discourse through the appeasement of Trump. Social media commentators such as Mikko Tuomi (2025b), M. Warheenmaa (2025), and Onerva Keränen (2025) have described this as outright "brown-nosing" and criticized the building of groundless trust in the "word of a great narcissist and pathological liar" (Tuomi 2025b). Juha Korhonen (2025) has insightfully pondered the mutual intimidation among NATO leaders, referring to the possibility of Trump’s "narcissistic personality disorder," where threats can be a means to restore control or frighten others into submission. This shows how deeply the personal traits of the American leader are linked to the alliance’s dynamics.
The transition to a war economy has already begun to show in the budgets of European countries—due to Trump’s demands. For example, Germany has amended its constitution to increase debt in order to boost military spending, and its new Chancellor Friedrich Merz has promised to make the Bundeswehr the "strongest conventional army in Europe" (Sankt-Peterburgskije vedomosti 2025; Temizyurek 2025). This military Keynesianism, where defense spending is seen as an economic stimulant, is according to critics inefficient and distorts the use of public funds (Temizyurek 2025; Mang 2025). According to a study by the New Economics Foundation, a euro invested in healthcare creates 2.5 times more jobs than the same amount invested in the arms industry (Mang 2025). Furthermore, a large part of European defense procurement is directed toward the United States, which bolsters the profits of American military corporations at the expense of European taxpayers (Mang 2025; Synergia Foundation 2025).
(This was a small excerpt from the novel "Ugliness Kills," to be published in early 2026)
Regards, Juha Molari, an unemployed Finn
