On 3 January 2026, at two o’clock in the morning, the United States declared war on Venezuela by bombing several strategic sectors of the capital and kidnapping the elected president, Nicolás Maduro. The latter, the victim of a betrayal at the highest level, was captured by elite troops from US Special Forces during an operation that lasted barely half an hour. He was transferred to New York, accompanied by his wife, Cilia Flores, who was also seized during Operation Absolute Resolve.
This blatant act of aggression against Venezuela’s sovereignty violates the most basic rules of international law, in particular Article 1 of the United Nations Charter, which states that member states must “maintain international peace and security,” “suppress acts of aggression,” and preserve “respect for the principle of equal rights of peoples.” Article 2, which prohibits any “threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state,” has likewise been rendered meaningless.
The military venture launched by the Trump administration, which constitutes an act of war under the law of armed conflict in the Geneva Conventions, also contravenes the Constitution of the United States, which specifies in Article I, Section 8 that only Congress has the power to declare war. By evading this legal obligation, the US president flouts the legislation of his own country and demonstrates his contempt for the rule of law, preferring instead the law of the strongest.
The pretext used to justify this extremely serious action—namely the alleged involvement of President Maduro in drug trafficking—does not withstand even the most superficial analysis. First, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Venezuela is not a drug-producing country but merely a transit nation through which only a marginal share of cocaine shipments bound for the United States passes—roughly 8 percent. Second, Washington has provided no evidence whatsoever to demonstrate the Venezuelan government’s involvement in such a network. Finally, in December 2025, Trump pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced by US courts to forty-five years in prison for exporting 400 tons of cocaine to the United States, revealing the deceptive nature of the accusation.
In reality, the United States is determined to seize Venezuela’s oil, as the country holds the world’s largest reserves. Since Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999, Caracas has regained control of its natural resources, redistributing wealth more equitably while developing trade relations with other emerging powers, primarily China. Determined to overthrow the Bolivarian government, Washington has imposed harsh economic sanctions on Venezuela for more than a decade.
In recent months, the Trump administration has imposed an oil blockade, illegally seizing several vessels and millions of barrels of oil. Added to this is the deployment of a major US military armada off the Venezuelan coast—an aircraft carrier, seven warships, more than a hundred fighter jets, and 15,000 troops—which has carried out repeated illegal attacks on civilian vessels in the Caribbean Sea, along with extrajudicial executions. It was this show of unprecedented force that made Maduro’s abduction possible.
President Trump, who has reactivated the Monroe Doctrine—supplemented with the “Trump Corollary” and rebranded as the “Donroe Doctrine”—has clearly expressed his desire to “restore American preeminence.” In a return to unapologetic imperialism, he has emphasized that the American continent is the United States’ exclusive sphere of influence. He has also declared that the era of sovereign equality among states is over for Latin America, and that the continent’s resources must be directed first and foremost toward US strategic interests.
As for Venezuela’s future, the Trump administration has openly laid out its predatory intentions: “We are going to run the country until we can carry out a safe transition. We are going to bring in our very large corporations.” As for Venezuelan oil, it is said to be the “property” of the United States: “We built Venezuela’s oil industry with American talent, determination, and skills, and the socialist regime stole it from us.” These statements sum up the imperial logic underlying this military intervention.
From the international community, countries such as China, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Cuba, Spain, Uruguay, and Colombia have condemned the US-orchestrated military aggression against Venezuela and its president. For their part, the European Union, France, and Italy, among others, have instead refused to condemn this flagrant violation of international law and have even supported this show of force—revealing to the world their duplicity and submission. The contrast between these reactions highlights the deep geopolitical fracture of the present moment.
One thing is certain: the international order born after 1945 has been definitively buried, replaced by the law of the strongest, which now stands as the implicit norm of international relations.
A well documented description of the US's latest illegal murderous adventure. Can we expect any brave, moral reaction from The Australian government? Of course not.
Thank you Salim.