The capture of Nicolas Maduro will likely yield both national and global consequences
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD – opinion@theaggie.org
When Americans across the country woke up on Saturday morning to the news that United States forces under the orders of President Donald Trump had captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an overnight operation, many were shocked but not surprised.
Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have been escalating for months, with Trump ordering several strikes on alleged drug carrier boats that departed from Venezuela under the auspices of stopping the influx of fentanyl. Those strikes were already legally questionable, and this latest operation has only received more criticism and concern over possible violations of international law.
Maduro’s arrest and America’s intervention has been condemned by the United Nations (U.N.) and world leaders, with many legal experts arguing that Maduro’s capture violated the U.N. Charter (of which the U.S. is a signatory). By using military force and breaching Venezuela’s sovereignty, the U.S. has broken a key tenet of international relations and further tainted America’s already-declining reputation abroad.
But, many Venezuelans have launched celebratory demonstrations and expressed relief over the toppling of Maduro’s regime and the possibility of democratic governance. Recent Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado went as far as saying on Monday that she would be willing to share her Peace Prize with Trump, applauding U.S. military intervention.
Others have been more hesitant to give praise or call victory. On Jan. 4, Trump said that the U.S. will “run Venezuela” and that American industry will have a role in jumpstarting Venezuela’s oil industry — a largely untapped and plentiful reserve. While there is hope among the Venezuelan people, there is also great uncertainty over what America’s influence and control over the country will look like.
The hypocrisy in Trump’s motivations have become clear in the days since Maduro’s arrest. Just last month, Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been found guilty of overseeing a violent drug-trafficking conspiracy. Meanwhile, as Hernández walks free, Maduro and his wife sit in holding cells in Manhattan, facing similar charges.
This is not to say that Maduro was good for Venezuela or that his rule didn’t see catastrophic effects on the Venezuelan people, their democracy and their economy. His regime was deadly, and his last election was rigged in his favor.
But if the U.S. (and Donald Trump) wants to posit itself as a peacemaker, it cannot keep using force as a means of abject diplomacy. The U.S. already has an unsavory reputation of violent interventions in Latin America, and this is a frightening resurgence of American imperialism.
This is far from over. Trump has publicly threatened Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez with consequences worse than Maduro’s if she doesn’t follow his vision for the country’s future. He’s also threatened further military action in neighboring Colombia and called their president a drug-trafficker. If Trump comes away from this unscathed, he may be emboldened to take further violent and warmongering actions in Iran, Cuba and Greenland — all of which are areas where he has indicated a desire for regime change.
America remains a dominant global powermaker — and increasingly a kingmaker and dethroner. If the administration continues to abuse our military might for personal gain (be that the President’s or the oil industry’s), we risk compromising the respect for independence and country’s borders which we claim to hold self-evident.
Written by: The Editorial Board – opinion@theaggie.org
