Between Trump, Venezuela, and the Brutality of US Geopolitics

The beginning of 2026 opened with a brutal military attack by the United States. The decision by US President Donald Trump to launch a military operation against the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and arrest President Nicolas Maduro truly revealed the cruelty of the United States.

This US foreign policy further tarnishes the image of the US, which was already damaged by controversial policies. Whatever the US does will always be met with pros and cons. However, the US's decision to attack Venezuela and kidnap Maduro and his wife to be tried in US courts on Saturday, January 3, 2026, truly shows how the country led by Donald Trump has gone beyond the bounds of reason. Anything will be done to achieve what is in the US's interests. It does not matter if the actions taken violate international law and deprive other nations of their rights. As long as it is deemed consistent with the nation's objectives, everything will be pushed through.

Picture source: www.plenglish.com

These methods clearly violate international law and universal norms that have long been considered a check on any world actor acting arbitrarily. In fact, all of these norms have been violated. Trump arrogantly admitted to witnessing how the US military attacked Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and how Maduro's arrest unfolded according to the planned scenario.

On the grounds that Maduro has become an international drug cartel that has killed thousands of US citizens due to the flow of drugs entering from Venezuela, Trump dared to violate Article 2 Paragraph 4 of the Charter of the United Nations (UN). This article prohibits all UN member states from using threats or force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the UN. Violating the UN Charter automatically means violating international law. Tragically, the US under Donald Trump has proudly and openly done just that. The US has casually attacked the sovereignty of another country (Venezuela) without feeling guilty, arresting the country's highest leader and dragging him to US jurisdiction to be tried under US law.

Such brutal and violent methods clearly contradict the spirit of international law enforcement. Even if Maduro is guilty, why bomb Venezuela's sovereign territory? According to data, at least 100 people were killed in the US air strike on Venezuela, which was followed by the arrest of Maduro and his wife (Reuters, January 8, 2026). Why take actions that cause innocent lives to be lost forever? Why try Maduro in the US without official extradition from the Venezuelan government? Legally, even if Maduro is proven guilty, he should still be tried in Venezuela. However, this time it was different. A person accused of being a drug criminal who was still de facto serving as the active president was arrested, taken away, and forced to stand trial outside the jurisdiction of the country concerned. There have been many violations of international law, such as the violation of Venezuela's territorial sovereignty due to the US attack, the arrest of Maduro and his wife without an international court order, and the forced trial of Maduro and his wife in US jurisdiction.

The precedent set by the US military attack on Venezuela further confirms the injustice and arbitrariness of the US, which wants to show itself as the world's police, acting as it pleases and behaving as it sees fit. This is very dangerous for the future of the world. It is possible that Trump's actions will become a justification for other countries to do similar things, even more recklessly, against other sovereign states. The US should be arresting Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been clearly designated a war criminal and a criminal against humanity by the International Court of Justice for killing tens of thousands of Palestinians. Instead, they are arresting someone whose legal status is unclear, such as Maduro.

Upon further investigation, it turns out that Maduro's arrest was driven by Trump's ambition to control Venezuela's oil wealth. This can be seen from Trump's statement that he would control the sale of 30 to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil (Reuters, January 7, 2026). This is what is referred to as geopolitics and geoeconomics, or regional political interests motivated by regional economics. Unfortunately, however, the methods employed by the US under Trump's leadership are highly questionable, as they violate international law and norms.

After Venezuela, Trump has even set his sights on his next target. Observing contemporary global political dynamics and Trump's style of political communication, sovereign territories such as Greenland, Colombia, and Iran are on Trump's radar for his next target. The world must not remain silent and passive in response to Trump's brutality. Sane people should speak out against every insane policy Trump implements.

Parties such as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Chinese authorities, Russian authorities, Brazilian authorities, and other countries, in my view, have responded appropriately to the US attack on Venezuela. They are united in opposing the US's unilateral action on the grounds that what the US has launched violates international law and endangers the world order. If left uncriticized and unprotested, the US actions against Venezuela are likely to trigger new violations by other countries against their peers or even by the US itself against new targets. We certainly cannot allow this to happen again and again.