Who can stop the shark?

Beneath the mountain of lies that Donald Trump spews daily lies this truth, which he endorses with his actions and can be summed up in three words: “I’m coming for you.” Within that you fit the voters of the Democratic Party, democracy itself, the trans population and all the nations punished with tariffs. Of course, there is Gaza, Cuba, Greenland, Colombia, the critical minerals of Ukraine, Maduro… And there is Pedro Sánchez, the 11 judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court sanctioned by the US after investigating the possible genocide in Israel and crimes perpetrated in Iran; Brazilians who do not support Bolsonaro, Argentines who do not vote for Milei, Francesca Albanese, UN rapporteur for the Palestinian territoriesalso sanctioned, the homeless beneficiaries of USAID funds, already canceled…And who knows if one day his possible successors, Marco Rubio and JD Vance, will not go to that same bag.

Let’s ask ourselves, then, how to stop it.

On September 2, the White House released the first images of the sinking of an alleged “drug boat” off the coast of Venezuela, where 11 alleged “drug traffickers” died without any supposed trial. The next day, Maduro did not directly allude to the attack. But there was a speech about the military pressure exerted by Trump and a little dance to a song by Rubén Blades, Shark, which had become in Latin America a kind of anthem against imperialism since its album was published, Songs from the boring lot, in 1981. The lyrics say: “If you see him coming, hit the shark.”

The shark has been filling the world with resentment, pollution and blood for more than a year. And the stick is not seen anywhere, much less in Caracas. Chavista language is loaded with military expressions, in the style of “Homeland or death, we will win!” or “doubting is treason.” Imagine what it is like to spend 27 years drilling into the brains of the 28 million Venezuelans with that stretched and epic phrasing, from the Chavista rallies, in hundreds of commemorations for the anniversaries of battles, reports and speeches: “The first combatant… (in reference to Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores).” “We are firm in the fight…”, No one gives up here!”, “We are kneeling on the ground”, “Always loyal, never traitors”… And all that, so that now Trump says that he is in charge of Venezuela without anyone complaining. The rows are tight, but very still. Maybe it is the most sensible thing, but not the most consistent.

Nobody moves outside of Venezuela either. The UN and the European Union have not gone beyond rhetorical statements. The Secretary General of NATO, the Dutch Mark Rutte, maintains a thunderous silence every time Trump threatens to take Greenlandan island belonging to Denmark, a member country of the organization. Rutte does not stand down and does not resign either. It only helps to extort the countries of the European Union to increase their purchases of weapons from the United States. And it does so under the pretext that investment in the Alliance must be increased. He will go down in history as the wimp who called Trump Daddy, as the man who the emperor ridiculed by publishing a private WhatsApp message. The United Kingdom limits itself to saying something similar to “I have nothing to do with this Venezuela thing.” China, the other major predator, has condemned the attack, but nothing will deter it from its own arms race. He will act when he sees that his time has come. And Russia will not take a step without China.

So who can stop the “fucking master“, what would Martín Caparrós say? Let’s see:

The federal judges? Not so easy. In June 2025, a key Supreme Court ruling limited the ability of these judges to issue national mandates. Now, their rulings usually apply only in the State or district of the judge who issues them. Gone are the days when a California judge could block a policy that affected the entire country.

The Supreme Court judges? You never know. But of the nine members of this Court, six are conservatives and three of them were appointed by Trump himself. I hope they get a burst of patriotic pride and row in favor of democracy. But if in doubt, read the previous paragraph again: “In June 2025, a key Supreme Court ruling limited the capacity of these federal judges,” etc.

The midterm elections, scheduled for next November? That sounds better. If the November 2026 elections brought a resounding victory for the Democrats, what is known in the United States as a “blue wave,” Trump’s power would be diminished (we would see to what extent) in the face of colonialist adventures. The architecture of the US Administration, which Trump is determined to undermine, is designed precisely so that Congress functions as a handbrake against a launched president. And this brings us to the next point:

The economy? A phrase attributed to Juan Domingo Perón maintains that the most sensitive organ or viscera of man is the pocket. Although inflation closed December 2025 in the United States at 2.7% – compared to forecasts of 3.1% – the threat of rising prices persists. JP Morgan analysts warn that the tariff policy could push inflation towards 3.5% in the second half of 2026.

The affordability (affordability) It has been the word of the year in the United States. The young Zohran Mamdani has ridden on it towards the mayor of New York. People aspire to something as unrealistic as making ends meet or buying a home. If inflation soars, if the Artificial Intelligence bubble deflates, the midterm elections could punish Trump. It is clear that the blow to the shark will not come from international outrage, but from the beleaguered Ohio voter, upset that his new truck costs $5,000 more because of the tariffs. But all these are nothing more than projections, clouds on the horizon. No clear force now opposes the shark. Maybe…

The disgruntled MAGAs? It doesn’t seem like it. Although the case of the pedophile Epstein is still there and Trump gets very nervous every time the Democrats in Congress publish photos of the two together, the majority of these ultras have closed ranks with the supreme leader in the face of the barbarity of Venezuela. It really feels like Trump could kill anyone on Fifth Avenue and nothing would happen to him.

So we only have this option left to stop it:

Himself? His own voracity? So far Trump has managed to leave Iran and Venezuela, without any casualties, with videos where the enemy always appears humiliated. In Venezuela it has caused at least 80 deaths, according to The New York Times. But if you continue treating the map like a bloody Monopoly board, a Vietnam may break out at you where you least expect it. A miscalculation in the jungles of Colombia or unexpected resistance in the streets of Caracas could turn the tables. We know that Black Hawk helicopters are very powerful in war, almost invincible. But we also know that they can be knocked downas happened in Mogadishu (Somalia) in 1993. The honest citizen of Ohio would not like to receive the body of his son in a coffin wrapped in stars and stripes. A Vietnam wouldn’t be good for anyone, except Netflix. Meanwhile, the shark advances, unpunished, towards us. And it’s not about any movie.