文章以2026年1月6日为时间点，描述美国在委内瑞拉的行动被北京解读为「势力范围」式世界的又一证据：尼古拉斯·马杜罗在加拉加斯于周六被美军拘押，周一与妻子在纽约联邦法院对多项「毒品恐怖主义」指控拒不认罪。作者认为，华府可将此包装为推翻以高压统治、窃取选举并拖垮油国经济的独裁者，但其外溢效果可能是让世界更像被强权划分的丛林秩序。
对中国而言，马杜罗下台短期像挫败，因北京既是委内瑞拉重要债权人，也是其原油买家；然而委国仅约占中国去年进口的4%，使冲击在量上有限。更尴尬的是，中方高层代表团在突袭前数小时仍与马杜罗会面，暴露其情报判断缺口。作者指出，若美国因此被西半球牵制，北京可能获得在台湾与南海等核心方向加压的时间与空间。
文章也把美方论述与文件纳入：国务卿马可·卢比奥在NBC节目中主张必须在「自家后院」重申影响力；2025年发布的《国家安全战略》更以所谓「川普推论」呼应1823年的《门罗宣言》。中国则以「违反国际法」批评并呼吁释放马杜罗夫妇，锁定全球南方受众；新加坡、马来西亚、印尼等亦表态关切或谴责。作者认为，这将成为北京在台海与南海议题上反击的「廉价弹药」，同时也促使日本、澳洲、韩国、印度等中等强国加大军费与合作，使任何两分世界的构想更难落地。
Dated Jan 6, 2026, the piece argues the US operation in Venezuela looks to Beijing like proof Washington is drifting toward a world split into spheres of influence. Nicolás Maduro was seized in Caracas on Saturday and appeared with his wife in a New York federal court on Monday, pleading not guilty to multiple narco-terrorism charges. The author says Trump can claim he removed an illegitimate autocrat, but the wider signal may accelerate a might-makes-right order.
For China, Maduro’s fall is a near-term setback because Beijing is Venezuela’s biggest creditor and a buyer of its crude, though Venezuela made up only about 4% of China’s oil imports last year. The oil trade is now uncertain, and a Chinese delegation meeting Maduro just hours before the raid highlights an intelligence blind spot. If Washington is distracted in the hemisphere, Beijing may gain time and room to intensify pressure in the Indo-Pacific, especially Taiwan and the South China Sea.
The article ties this to US rhetoric and documents: Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged reasserting influence close to home, and the 2025 National Security Strategy invokes a “Trump Corollary” to the 1823 Monroe Doctrine. China condemns the action as illegal and calls for Maduro’s release, aiming at Global South audiences as Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia voice concern or censure. This provides “cheap ammunition” in future disputes, while Taiwan drills last month and rising defense efforts by Japan, Australia, South Korea, and India complicate any tidy two-bloc map.