If Trump can invade Venezuela, why can’t Putin invade Ukraine? Or Xi Jinping seize Taiwan?
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o matter how you slice it, Donald Trump’s invasion of Venezuela is an act of naked aggression. It is blatantly illegal and sets a disturbing precedent of indifference to national sovereignty that tyrants worldwide will be eager to exploit.
The ostensible reason for the US president’s military incursion was to arrest Nicolás Maduro on criminal charges for drug trafficking. But that does not justify invading Venezuela to seize him.
Under the United Nations charter, military force can be used against a sovereign nation in only two circumstances – with the authorization of a UN security council resolution, or in self-defense from an actual or imminent armed attack. But there is no security council resolution, and Venezuela posed no such military threat to the United States.
