In a stunning one-two punch that demonstrates a comprehensive rejection of international order, the Trump administration has announced its withdrawal from the foundational United Nations climate treaty while simultaneously consolidating control over Venezuela and its vast oil reserves. The dual moves, executed within days of each other, reveal a coherent strategy of abandoning global cooperation in favor of unilateral resource extraction and nationalist isolation.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing the United States to withdraw from 66 international organizations, treaties, and conventions. The list targets nearly every major forum for climate, environmental, and social governance, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), UN Women, and the UN Population Fund. Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed the targeted bodies as "anti-American, useless, or wasteful" and driven by "progressive ideology".
The withdrawal from the UNFCCC is unprecedented; the United States will become the first and only nation in the world not party to the treaty that has underpinned three decades of global climate diplomacy. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, called the decision a "colossal own goal" that will "leave the US less secure and less prosperous". Experts warn it is a "strategic blunder" that cedes economic leadership in the clean energy transition to rivals like China and the European Union.
Critics directly connect this retreat from science and cooperation to the administration's servitude to fossil fuel interests. "This authoritarian, anti-science administration is determined to sacrifice people's well-being and destabilize global cooperation," said Dr. Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists, noting the move is part of a pattern of actions that have "sent our nation's credibility plummeting". The administration has openly scorned climate science as a "hoax" and has moved aggressively to dismantle domestic environmental protections while boosting polluting industries.
This rejection of multilateralism coincides with a brazen assertion of unilateral military and economic power in Latin America. The administration's recent capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was swiftly followed by President Trump's declaration that the U.S. would "run" the country and send its "very large United States oil companies" to "start making money" from its reserves. This overt act of resource imperialism, condemned globally as a violation of international law, exposes the administration's true priority: seizing economic assets over upholding a rules-based order.
The parallel actions reveal a stark doctrine. The U.S. is withdrawing from institutions that demand shared responsibility for global problems like climate change, biodiversity loss, and gender inequality—framing them as threats to sovereignty. Simultaneously, it is exerting raw sovereign power to commandeer the resources of a weaker nation. The message is clear: cooperation is weakness; dominance is strength. The world body founded to promote peace after World War II is now derided by its host nation as a useless forum for "globalist" projects.
Legal challenges are expected, as constitutional scholars question whether a president can unilaterally exit a Senate-ratified treaty like the UNFCCC. However, the immediate damage is diplomatic and moral. As former U.S. Vice President Al Gore stated, the administration acts "at the behest of the oil industry" to enrich billionaires while "endangering people in America and around the world". With these moves, the United States has not merely stepped back from the world stage; it is actively working to dismantle the stage itself, leaving a more dangerous and fragmented world in its wake.