Late last Friday night into early Saturday, I watched the news and scrolled through social media as reports of explosions in Caracas began to spread. I went to sleep unaware of what the morning would bring. Hours later, bleary-eyed and half-blind without my glasses, I woke to headlines announcing that the Trump administration had captured and arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in what it called “Operation Absolute Resolve,” transporting him to New York to face narco-trafficking charges. Maduro’s sudden removal is being celebrated by Venezuelans abroad and met with a mix of relief and unease inside the country. But beyond those reactions lies a far more troubling implication: Venezuela will not be the end.
And I mean that in multiple senses, domestic and international alike. Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear that he intends to operate above the law. Under U.S. law, Congress authorizes war, not the president acting unilaterally. For those who insist that Saturday’s operation was not an act of war, international law is far less forgiving. The forcible capture of the head of another state constitutes a use of force prohibited under Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, which bars the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Recognition disputes do not create legal loopholes. Even if the administration claims Maduro was not the legitimate president, customary international law, the principle of sovereign equality, and the doctrine of non-intervention make clear that sovereignty cannot be violated absent self-defense or explicit authorization by the UN Security Council, neither of which applies here.
