A report published on March 8, 2026, outlines the long history of United States involvement in regime change operations across multiple countries, from the Cold War to recent years. According to a 2019 study cited in the report, the US attempted 72 foreign interventions between 1947 and 1989, 64 of which were covert operations with a success rate of about 40 percent. Examples include the 1953 CIA-backed overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and the 2011 NATO-led intervention in Libya that resulted in the death of Muammar Gaddafi.

The report also recounts US actions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Panama, Grenada, and the Dominican Republic, describing how each intervention aimed to reshape political systems in line with Washington’s interests. It notes that many of these countries remain unstable or divided long after the interventions.

Most recently, in January 2026, US President Donald Trump reportedly ordered the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, marking the latest in a series of American-led regime change efforts. The long-term consequences of this action remain undetermined.