{"id":31069,"date":"2026-04-05T05:54:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T05:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=31069"},"modified":"2026-04-05T05:59:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T05:59:29","slug":"the-american-script-of-regime-change-from-caracas-to-islamabad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=31069","title":{"rendered":"The American Script of Regime Change: From Caracas to Islamabad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In January 2026, U.S. special forces stormed Caracas in a daring night raid, capturing Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. The operation unfolded with military precision: Maduro was abducted, installations destroyed, and the armed forces incapacitated\u2014all without American casualties. President Donald Trump declared that Venezuela\u2019s oil resources, nationalized under Hugo Ch\u00e1vez and Maduro, would be \u201crepossessed\u201d and rebuilt under U.S. oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An interim administration led by Trump\u2019s allies Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth signalled Washington\u2019s intent not merely to remove a hostile leader but to reshape Venezuela\u2019s political and economic order. Yet beneath the triumphal rhetoric lay deep uncertainty. Maduro\u2019s allies, including Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino L\u00f3pez and Vice President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, vowed resistance. The Venezuelan diaspora, long supportive of opposition leader Mar\u00eda Corina Machado, expressed outrage at Trump\u2019s dismissal of her as a viable leader. Analysts warned that while toppling a regime may be militarily straightforward, rebuilding a fractured state plagued by corruption and cartels is a generational challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding to the drama, Trump later quipped at Fort Bragg that once he retires from his current post, he might even \u201cconsider being the President of Venezuela\u201d\u2014a remark that captured both his bravado and the ambiguity surrounding America\u2019s long-term role in Caracas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tehran, February 2026: The Assassination<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barely a month later, on February 28, 2026, another shock reverberated across the Middle East. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was assassinated in Tehran during a series of Israeli airstrikes coordinated with U.S. intelligence. Satellite imagery confirmed that his residence was severely damaged. The Iranian government announced his death on March 1, declaring forty days of mourning. Several of Khamenei\u2019s family members were also killed in the strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aftermath was chaotic. Mojtaba Khamenei, his son, was swiftly appointed as successor by the Assembly of Experts. International protests erupted across Asia, Europe, and the United States, condemning the strikes as violations of sovereignty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump and his allies hailed the operation as a strategic success, likening it to the removal of Saddam Hussein. Yet legal experts in the West argued that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had committed a war crime. The Omani Foreign Minister, who had been mediating talks between Washington and Tehran, revealed that both sides were on the verge of signing a deal: Iran had agreed to abide by IAEA restrictions, limit uranium enrichment well below weapons grade, renounce nuclear weapons development, and even permit U.S. inspectors at its nuclear sites. The strike abruptly ended this diplomatic breakthrough and exposed the false premise that Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The miscalculation backfired. Khamenei\u2019s death transformed him into a martyr, strengthening hardline elements. Framed within Shia concepts of martyrdom, his assassination reinforced the regime rather than weakened it, while also narrowing the Shia-Sunni divide and galvanizing unity. Iran retaliated with fury: thousands of lives were lost, including civilians and schoolchildren, while targeted killings of Iranian leaders continued. Israeli casualties mounted under Iranian strikes, and U.S. servicemen in Gulf bases were successfully targeted. Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz to U.S., Israeli, and allied shipping, triggering global panic with energy shortages, food insecurity, and economic turmoil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reckless action brought the world to the brink of World War III. Mediation efforts led by Pakistan, supported by Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and backed by China, emerged as the only viable path to de-escalation. But before examining Pakistan\u2019s peace initiative, one must recall Washington\u2019s earlier involvement in Pakistan itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Islamabad, April 2022: The Parliamentary Coup<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Venezuelan episode resonates strongly in Pakistan, where Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed in April 2022 through a parliamentary no-confidence vote. Khan alleged that his ouster was engineered by Washington, citing a diplomatic cipher in which U.S. officials expressed dissatisfaction with his independent foreign policy, particularly his outreach to Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the official narrative framed Khan\u2019s removal as a constitutional process, his supporters saw it as a textbook case of external interference facilitated by domestic power brokers. The aftermath was turbulent: Khan\u2019s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), launched mass protests branding the new government a \u201cforeign-imposed\u201d regime. The controversy deepened political polarization and strained civil-military relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike Venezuela, where U.S. troops physically occupied the capital, Pakistan\u2019s regime change was subtler\u2014a blend of diplomatic pressure, elite manoeuvring, and constitutional procedure. Yet the underlying theme was similar: Washington\u2019s discomfort with leaders who challenge its geopolitical priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historical Continuum<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Venezuelan and Pakistani cases are part of a broader historical pattern. Since the 19th century, the United States has repeatedly intervened to replace governments abroad. Notable examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n