US Claims of Hemispheric Primacy: The 15th Century Roots of the ‘Donroe Doctrine’

On January 3, 2026, US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. They cited a new “Donroe Doctrine” as justification. This policy updates the 1823 Monroe Doctrine. It asserts US primacy in the Western Hemisphere to exclude foreign adversaries. Legally, this framework mirrors the 15th-century “Doctrine of Discovery.” That doctrine granted European powers title to land based on superior “civilization” and religious authority. Both doctrines rely on the premise that one dominant power holds the ultimate right to determine sovereignty over a specific region. This analysis examines the legal lineage from Papal Bulls to the current US intervention in Caracas.

The United States has asserted a unilateral right to remove the head of a sovereign nation. It grounds the action in a modernized interpretation of hemispheric security. The January 3 extraction of Nicolás Maduro establishes the “Donroe Doctrine” (a blend of the Monroe Doctrine and executive prerogative) as the operative legal framework for US policy in Latin America. This move signals that the US views the Western Hemisphere not just as a zone of influence. It views the region as a jurisdiction where its security interests supersede local sovereignty.

The arrest of a sitting head of state is a rare escalation in international law. By explicitly referencing the Monroe Doctrine, the administration is not just conducting a police action. It is reviving a 200-year-old claim to regional dominance. Understanding the legal roots of this claim is necessary for predicting future US interventions in the region.

The Doctrine of Discovery originated in 15th-century Papal Bulls (specifically Inter Caetera (May 4, 1493). It established a religious and legal justification for European domination of the “New World.” The core tenets were:

Christian Primacy: Christian nations held superior title to land over non-Christian or “heathen” inhabitants.