Cape Town, January 17 – As India prepares to take the helm of BRICS in 2026, the group is regaining spotlight amid mounting pressures on multilateral diplomacy. A fresh report warns that U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump is raising alarming questions for the Global South, potentially heralding a revival of imperial ambitions.
The analysis highlights aggressive U.S. actions since early 2026 that have rattled international norms. On January 3, American special forces executed a daring raid in Caracas, arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on alleged narco-terrorism charges. Washington followed up by announcing long-term oversight of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, a move critics decry as resource grab.
Just days earlier, on Christmas Day 2025, U.S. strikes targeted purported ISIS hideouts in Nigeria’s Sokoto State in the northwest. Officials justified the attacks as protecting Nigerian Christians from terrorism, but they underscore a pattern of unilateral interventions.
Tensions are also simmering over Greenland. Citing national security, rare minerals, and Arctic routes, the White House has revived claims on the territory, straining ties with NATO ally Denmark. Military options remain on the table, fueling global unease.
South Africa’s Center for Alternative Political and Economic Thought chair Fapano Fasha references Indian columnist T.K. Arun’s writings, describing Trump’s approach as a deliberate echo of 19th-century imperialism. ‘This policy deliberately undermines the post-World War II rules-based order built on treaties, sovereignty, and multilateralism,’ Fasha quotes Arun.
The Venezuela operation, framed as law enforcement, has morphed into U.S. control over oil exports – a textbook case of neo-imperial logic. Arun further slams coercive economics, like threats of 500% tariffs on nations buying Russian oil, forcing alignment or punishment.
As the Global South seeks platforms to defend international standards, BRICS under India’s leadership could emerge as a crucial bulwark. The report calls for urgent multilateral revival to counter these destabilizing trends, lest the world slips into a new era of dominance.
