As much as it may seem like we’re heading into a new, dangerous, and destabilizing period of Donald Trump’s authoritarian regime—his actions in Venezuela appear illegal under both international law and US law and happened without any congressional consultation—it’s important to recognize and understand some context. The history of the region—and, more importantly, of how Donald Trump himself operates, how he seems caught in the mindset of 1980s America—make clear that Trump may be embarking on what may someday be viewed as the last war of the 20th century. In fact, there are three main principles that help explain where the US finds itself just days into a new year—principles that make clear how, despite how shocking Saturday morning’s breaking news alerts turned out to be, this moment is actually quite unsurprising: