The recent U.S. military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro and seize control of Venezuela signals more than just a regime change; it marks the definitive end of the post-WWII international order. By launching a “large-scale strike” to apprehend a foreign head of state on his own soil, the United States has signaled that international law is now a secondary concern to American interests.
Legal experts and several world leaders argue that this intervention is a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter, specifically Article 2(4), which prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or sovereignty of any state. Yale professor Oona Hathaway warns that the U.S. justification—citing drug-trafficking charges—effectively creates a “new rule” where the use of force has no limits. Despite these legal alarm bells, the U.S. has moved to assume temporary oversight of Venezuela and its oil production, treating a sovereign nation as a domestic administrative matter.
The most telling aspect of this “new world order” is the stark silence or “muffled” criticism from traditional U.S. allies. Fearing Trump’s displeasure or the withdrawal of vital support for other conflicts, major powers have largely “dived for cover”. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis went as far as to state that now is “not the time to comment on the legality” of the action, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz claimed the legal assessment was too “complex” for immediate judgment.
In this landscape of intimidation, only a few nations—Russia, China, and Cuba—have dared to offer open condemnation. Russia denounced the “act of armed aggression,” while China characterized the operation as an “act of hegemony” and a clear violation of international law. These dissenters are increasingly isolated as the rest of the world watches Washington cement a new system just for itself.
With Secretary of State Marco Rubio already threatening that Cuba is “next,” the message to the global community is clear. The world has entered an era where the UN Charter is a relic of a vanishing world, and the United States, under Trump, operates entirely above the laws it once helped draft.
