US President Donald Trump said on Saturday morning that the American forces had conducted what he called ‘large-scale strike; against Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores.
The couple has now been indicted in New York on terrorism and drugs charges. Trump has accused Maduro of running a “narco terrorist organization”.
Maduro was captured during the strikes inside Venezuela early on Saturday, a move that marked a sharp escalation after weeks of mounting tensions and speculation over possible US action. President Trump had deployed an imposing military force in the Caribbean to threaten Venezuela over the past few months, according to New York Times. On Saturday, however, President Trump dramatically escalated his campaign by capturing Maduro of Venezuela.
Maduro, who served as the president of Venezuela since 2013, had been described as undemocratic and repressive by many. New York Times said in its Editorial calling Trump’s attack on Venezuela ‘illegal and unwise’ on Saturday cited a United Nations recent report which detailed more than a decade of killings, torture, sexual violence and arbitrary detention by henchmen against Maduro political opponents in the Latin American nation.
Maduro is also accused of rigging Venezuela’s presidential election in 2024 besides fueling economic and political disruption throughout the region. Yet, the legality of the US operation capturing him and his wife has even prompted Trump’s allies to suggest it violated international law.
Is the US action in Venezuela justified under international law? Experts that spoke with global media suggested that US action has likely violated the terms of the UN charter, which was signed in October 1945 and designed to prevent another conflict on the scale of the second world war.
Article 2(4) of the UN Charter says that states must refrain from using military force against other countries. “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations,” reads the article.
The United Nations, said on Saturday, that President Trump’s move sets a dangerous precedent for the world.
“The reality is that America is in breach of the United Nations charter,” Geoffrey Robertson KC, a founding head of Doughty Street Chambers told the Guardian.
“It has committed the crime of aggression, which the court at Nuremberg described as the supreme crime, it’s the worst crime of all,” according to Robertson KC who is also a former president of the UN war crimes court in Sierra Leone.
Experts in international law told news agency Reuters that Trump administration had muddled the legal issues by claiming the operation was both a targeted law enforcement mission and the potential prelude to long-term control of Venezuela by the US.
“You cannot say this was a law enforcement operation and then turn around and say now we need to run the country,” Jeremy Paul, a professor at Northeastern University specializing in constitutional law told the news agency.
Elvira Domínguez-Redondo, a professor of international law at Kingston University in conversation with the Guardian described the operation as a ‘crime of aggression and unlawful use of force against another country’. Susan Breau, another professor of international law and a senior associate research fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, agreed that the attack could have only been considered lawful if the US had a resolution from the UN security council or was acting in self-defense.
‘Not yet offered a coherent explanation’
“There is just no evidence whatsoever on either of those fronts,” Breau told the Guardian.
The NYT edit criticizing the operation said President Trump has not yet offered a coherent explanation for his actions in Venezuela. “He is pushing our country toward an international crisis without valid reasons. If Mr. Trump wants to argue otherwise, the Constitution spells out what he must do: Go to Congress. Without congressional approval, his actions violate US law,” the edit reads.
The US Congress has the power to declare war but the president is the commander-in-chief, and presidents of both parties have justified carrying out military action when it was limited in scope and in the national interest, news agency Reuters said,
Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair magazine in an interview published last year that if President Trump were to authorize “some activity on land” in Venezuela he would need approval from Congress.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Congress was not notified before Saturday’s operation.
How did the US justify the operation?
At a press conference, President Trump blamed Venezuela for stealing US oil interests and said Washington would take them back and planned to run Venezuela for a period of time, without offering specifics.
US authorities said the Justice Department sought military assistance to apprehend Maduro, who had been indicted by a New York grand jury along with his wife, son, two political leaders and an alleged leader of an international gang. They were charged with crimes related to terrorism, drugs and weapons.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media that the defendants “will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”
Past incidents?
The US has captured criminal suspects in foreign countries including Libya but only after consent of local authorities. Washington has not yet recognized another Venezuelan leader who could have authorized the capture of Maduro, news agency Reuters said.
In 1989, the US arrested General Manuel Noriega, then the leader of Panama, in similar circumstances. Noriega had been indicted on drug-related charges and Washington said it was acting to protect US citizens after Panamanian forces had killed a US soldier.
The former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, was extradited to the United States in 2022 and later convicted on drug-related charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison. Trump pardoned Hernandez in December.
It has committed the crime of aggression, which the court at Nuremberg described as the supreme crime.
“While Mr. Trump has been attacking Venezuelan boats, he also pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, who ran a sprawling drug operation when he was president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022,” the NYT edit read.
(With inputs from NYT, Guardian and Reuters)
