WASHINGTON, D.C.: U.S. President Donald Trump's words after the abduction of deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro have taken the world back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when American presidents openly used military power to secure territory and resources.

It was an era when experts often defined America's aspirations as "gunboat diplomacy."

"American dominance in the Western Hemisphere," Trump declared after Maduro's capture, "will never be questioned again."

Trump and his team have worked hard to signal that this renewed emphasis on U.S. preeminence in the region is here to stay. He has also warned neighboring countries to fall in line or face consequences.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, U.S. presidents deployed troops across the region, including in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

"There have been moments — Vietnam and Iraq — that raised questions about a return to American imperialism," said Edward Frantz, a historian at the University of Indianapolis. "But in those cases, U.S. leaders framed their actions in the language of democracy. The way Trump is talking about power is something we haven't seen in a very long time."

Trump's harsh rhetoric has extended even to allies. In Greenland, he renewed calls for the U.S. to take over the Danish territory for national security reasons. He has also targeted Mexico, saying America's southern neighbor must "get their act together" in fighting drug cartels.

He has warned longtime adversary Cuba that it is "going down." Asked by reporters about a possible military operation in Colombia, the world's largest cocaine producer, Trump responded, "Sounds good to me."

The president has also said his administration will "run" Venezuela policy and warned interim President Delcy Rodríguez that she could face a worse fate than Maduro if she does not "do what's right." Trump has made it clear he expects Caracas to open its vast oil reserves to U.S. energy companies, fueling speculation about American overreach.

The Venezuela operation has split Latin America. Right-leaning leaders aligned with Trump have broadly welcomed Maduro's removal, while non-aligned governments have condemned it as a violation of sovereignty. The episode has also revived concerns about Trump's interest in annexing Greenland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that such a move would effectively end NATO, the transatlantic military alliance.

Trump has increasingly invoked the doctrine of protecting American safety and welfare to justify intervention in Venezuela and to threaten action elsewhere in the hemisphere — and beyond. He has said he is open to imposing additional tariffs on India if it does not pressure Russia to stop selling oil. He has already imposed the highest tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, even as other countries, including the United States, continue to purchase Russian oil, fertilizers, and uranium.

Just weeks before Maduro's ouster, Trump released a long-awaited National Security Strategy that appeared internally conflicted.

While Trump, who campaigned on a promise of "no more wars," claimed the administration had a "predisposition to non-interventionism," the document also pledged to "restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere."

With Maduro's removal, the administration appears to have firmly embraced the latter.

At an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on January 5, Colombian Ambassador Leonor Zalabata Torres said the Venezuela raid echoed "the worst interference in our area in the past."

Meanwhile, Democrats have questioned whether Trump's actions risk emboldening Russian President Vladimir Putin, who seeks further territorial gains in Ukraine, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has vowed to annex self-ruled Taiwan.

Russia has condemned the U.S. action in Venezuela. Its U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said the world body "cannot allow the United States to proclaim itself as some kind of supreme judge" over the international community.