In an unprecedented move, the US President, Donald Trump, declared that American troops conducted a military operation in Venezuela, capturing its President, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores de Maduro.
The Venezuelan couple is now in New York, facing charges of terrorism and drug trafficking, amid questions over the legality of the US operation with many legal experts suggesting it violated international law.
US Capture of Maduro
Early on Saturday, several explosions rocked the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, with witnesses reporting hearing the sound of low-flying aircraft, at least one column of smoke, and an electricity blackout in the southern area of the city, near a major military base.
This was followed by a government statement, accusing the US of military aggression and declaring a state of national emergency and mobilization across the country.
Later on, the US President, Donald Trump, announced the capture of Maduro and his wife in “an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela,” dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve.
Trump said that the couple “will now face criminal court proceedings tied to a 2020 indictment from the US Department of Justice on multiple federal charges, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.”
Moreover, Trump noted that the US will run Venezuela for a transitional period and tap its vast oil reserves.
Currently, the Venezuelan leader is in a detention center in New York, facing federal charges related to terrorism and drug trafficking, based on a 2020 narcoterrorism indictment issued during Trump’s first term.
UN Alarm
Following the extraction of Maduro, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, voiced deep concern over the US military action in Venezuela, suggesting it did not respect the international law.
In a statement issued by UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, the UN chief said he is “deeply alarmed” by the recent escalation in Venezuela, “which has potential worrying implications for the region.”
Describing the developments as a “dangerous precedent,” Guterres reaffirmed the importance of respecting the international law, including the UN Charter, saying that he is “deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected.”
In light of the recent developments, the government of Venezuela has asked for a UN Security Council (UNSC) emergency session, scheduled on Monday at 10 am.
Legal Questions
Trump’s decision to conduct a military operation in Venezuela and extract its President to the US has sparked condemnation from legal experts, as well as international allies and adversaries, despite the US State Secretary, Marco Rubio, justifying it as a “law enforcement operation” that doesn’t need Congress approval.
China, Russia, Iran and the vast majority of Latin American countries, as well as France, criticized the US operation, suggesting it violates international law.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the US “hegemonic acts” seriously violate international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty, while Russia accused the US of committing “an act of armed aggression” and Iran said it is a “flagrant violation of the country’s national sovereignty.”
Meanwhile, the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, said that the US operation “contravenes the principle of non-use of force, which underpins international law.”
International Law Violation
On this matter, the international law professor at the UK’s University of Reading and the professor emeritus of international law at the US Naval War College, Michael Schmitt, described the operation as a “clear violation” of international law.
Schmitt noted that the US did not have authority from the UNSC to conduct military operations in Venezuela, nor any legitimate justification to act in self-defense, as drug trafficking doesn’t amount to an armed attack, according to Los Angeles Times.
He added that the operation also lacked clear approval from Venezuelan authorities. “International law is clear. Without consent, you cannot engage in investigations or arrest or seizure of criminal property on another state’s territory. That’s a violation of that state’s sovereignty,” Schmitt said.
UN Charter Breach
Signed in October 1945, the UN Charter aimed to prevent another conflict on the scale of World War II. Article 2(4) of the UN Charter notes that all member states shall refrain 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 UN.
Speaking to the Guardian, the former president of the UN war crimes court in Sierra Leone, Geoffrey Robertson KC, said that the US attack on Venezuela violated article 2(4) of the UN Charter.
“The reality is that America is in breach of the United Nations charter. It has committed the crime of aggression, which the court at Nuremberg described as the supreme crime, it’s the worst crime of all,” he noted.
Robertson added that the US cannot frame the operation as self-defense because there was no imminent military attack against American territories.
“There is no conceivable way America can claim, although no doubt it will, that the action was taken in self-defense. If you are going to use self-defense you have to have a real and honest belief that you are about to be attacked by force,” he said.
Unlawful Attack
Critics of the US operation described it as an unlawful attack against Venezuela. It is a “crime of aggression and unlawful use of force against another country,” the professor of international law at Kingston University, Elvira Domínguez-Redondo, said about the attack.
Similarly, the professor of international law and a senior associate research fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Susan Breau, noted that a UNSC resolution or acting in self-defense would have made the operation lawful. “There is just no evidence whatsoever on either of those fronts,” she said.
