Trump is violating international law – what now?
The international condemnation of the US government’s attack on Venezuela is clear. Only the German Chancellor is making an exception, calling the attack on the neighbouring country, which violates international law, ‘complex’. A cowardly excuse out of fear of Trump instead of plain speaking.
US Senator Ruben Gallego from Arizona: ‘This war is illegal. It is shameful that we have gone from being the world’s policeman to the world’s bully. There is no reason why we should be at war with Venezuela.’
The American invasion is being condemned in all parts of the world. The German “Handelsblatt” writes: “No one needs to mourn Maduro. The Venezuelan president was a ruthless dictator who held his people hostage and had political opponents tortured, imprisoned or killed. And yet: Maduro’s arrest in a spectacular military operation and the bombing of the Venezuelan capital Caracas are a breach of American law because the president bypassed Congress. Above all, however, it is a crystal-clear breach of international law. “
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag writes: “The US wants to be a colonial power in the Western Hemisphere again, as it were. A lot could have gone wrong in the early hours of the morning in Caracas. Trump and his special forces were lucky. But the message to the world is fatal: international law no longer applies.”
The opinion of the New York Times: “If there is one overarching lesson to be learned from American foreign policy over the past century, it is that attempting to overthrow even the most reprehensible regime can often make the situation worse. The United States has spent 20 years trying in vain to establish a stable government in Afghanistan and has replaced a dictatorship in Libya with a failed state. The tragic consequences of the 2003 Iraq War continue to weigh on the US and the Middle East to this day. Finally, it is particularly relevant that the United States has repeatedly destabilised Latin American countries such as Chile, Cuba, Guatemala and Nicaragua by attempting to overthrow governments by force.”
The British Observer newspaper concludes: ‘This was the clearest signal yet from the US government that it has abandoned the basic principle of the post-war order. The Trump team has made it clear that power equals right. As a result, the US is now likely to be more feared but less respected.’
The Italian Corriere della Sera newspaper concluded: “Maduro’s arrest was a military success that could turn into an international disaster. All the more so if Trump actually wants to take on the burden of a protectorate over Venezuela and temporarily rule the country from Washington. By brutally claiming that Venezuela belongs to the US sphere of influence, where they can act as they please, Trump has implicitly given Putin and Xi Jinping the green light to do the same in their respective ‘backyards.’ In other words: I’ll take Venezuela, you do what you want with your neighbours, Kyiv and Taipei are not vital interests for the US.”
A regime change in Venezuela by the Venezuelans could have been an opportunity, but what the Americans have now done there could lead to exactly the opposite. In reality, Trump is not concerned with the welfare of the Venezuelans, but with oil for the US. Who is next on Trump’s menu? Greenland, Canada, Mexico? It could lead to a global conflagration. Trump, Putin and Xi Jinping want to bomb the world back into the 20th century.
So what can be done? History teaches us that if as many democrats as possible around the world resist, this plan will not succeed. On the contrary, a very strong international peace movement could emerge again. This is its momentum.
Source
Franz Alt 2026 | Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
