The Bermuda Triangle of Maduro's Fall: Vortices of Energy, Geopolitics, and Security

Ahmadinejad, Hamid; Zeinivand, Hossein; Chehreazad, Hossein

doi:10.22034/nrpg.2026.2084295.1082

The Bermuda Triangle of Maduro's Fall: Vortices of Energy, Geopolitics, and Security

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Hamid Ahmadinejad ¹

Hossein Zeinivand ²

Hossein Chehreazad ³

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Lorestan .University, Khorramabad, Iran

² Faculty member, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran.

³ M.A. in International Relations, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/nrpg.2026.2084295.1082

Abstract

Venezuela, due to its geostrategic significance and its position as the holder of the world’s largest proven oil reserves, has always attracted the attention of the United States. However, in recent decades, the country had turned into a geopolitical quagmire for Washington. This situation ultimately led to a military action by the Trump administration in January 2025, during which Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, was abducted and the Venezuelan government was overthrown. Relying on the assumption that the causes of this U.S. action were multidimensional, this study seeks to answer the following question: How did energy, geopolitics, and security, creates the conditions for Maduro’s downfall at the hands of the United States? Using a descriptive–analytical approach and drawing on documentary and library-based data, the findings of the study indicate that control over Venezuela’s hydrocarbon resources, containment of Russian and Chinese influence in America’s traditional sphere of influence, and the aggressive redefinition of security based on the Monroe Doctrine, as the three sides of a decisive triangle, provided the necessary groundwork for U.S. intervention and the collapse of the Maduro government. The research results reveal that in this triangle of decline, security served as the justification, energy acted as the tool, and geopolitics constituted the underlying foundation and main driver.

Keywords

The Monroe Doctrine

Energy

Geopolitics

Security

Maduro'

s Downfall

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