Clipped from: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-indefensible-action/article70474355.ece
US overthrow of Maduro govt in Venezuela shocking
The Trump administration has annexed Venezuela in an act of imperialism by taking out its government — an open and shut case of violation of national sovereignty | Photo Credit: Eduardo Munoz
The US’ Saturday strikes on Venezuela and its abduction of President Nicholas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores cannot be justified on any grounds whatsoever. Simply put, the Trump administration has annexed Venezuela in an act of imperialism by taking out its government — an open and shut case of violation of national sovereignty. It violates Article 2(7) of the UN Charter, under which all countries have the right to govern their internal affairs without interference. Chapter VII of the Charter spells out the grounds for intervention, under which the UN Security Council can authorise the use of force against a country that poses a threat to international peace and security.
So, the supposed venality of Maduro is an irrelevance here. It would be preposterous to argue that Venezuela today, or Panama or Grenada in the 1980s whose heads of state were deposed in similar fashion, poses a threat under Chapter VII. The US moved the Security Council to make the case for invading Iraq, arguing that Saddam Hussein harboured ‘weapons of mass destruction’. None of that was found when the country was invaded in 2003, but Iraq was devastated. It’s the same story with countries that have been bombed or invaded by the US, whether it is Syria, Afghanistan or Libya. These regions have turned into nightmare zones, breeding terrorism. So much for restoring global peace. If the US does not resort to direct action in a country of interest, it pushes ‘regime change’ by fomenting popular uprisings.
Trump has been bald about his motives: he has promised that oil will flow (Venezuela has the largest known reserves), and US oil majors’ scrips are buoyant already. Curbing ‘narco-terrorism’ is an apology of a pretext. The less stated but obvious motives are to curb China’s influence in South America and Venezuela in particular (the same holds true for Russia); and to nip all traces of ‘Communism’ in the region. The last has been a hangover from the Cold War days. This did not work in Cuba, but it did in Chile, Nicaragua and Brazil. Trump has actually cited the 200-year old Munroe Doctrine, which advocates US control over the Americas to keep the rest out, to theorise his actions. A rules-based international order, born out of the ashes of the two World Wars, is all but non-existent.
Innocent of such niceties, Trump has said that he will ‘run’ Venezuela temporarily. The last bit is perhaps addressed to his core constituency, which has backed him in the belief that he is against long wars in faraway places. It is anyone’s guess whether Venezuela turns out to be another quagmire. The trouble with this ‘mask is off’ style of Trump is that the US operates in a multi-polar world now, with China and Russia certainly in the game to contest its exercise of hegemony. Russia and China can flex their muscle a la Munroe Doctrine in their backyards. This is a signal for an alarming descent into chaos. India should counsel restraint and press for a peaceful resolution. It has a purposeful role to play.
Published on January 5, 2026
aniltikotekar4sme.com 