- The global community must have felt rudely awoken by the news headlines splashing all around about how the United States of America’s joint military operation abducted the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro and wife, Cilia Flores, in mid-night operation with such precision. The moot point to ponder over here is whether the universe deserved such an unilateral action by completely ignoring the accepted world order, where every international law was breached. What about the sovereignty, independence, and freedom of a country when a superpower simply decides to flex its muscles by abducting the president in the middle of the night? Is it to be termed as an audacious or dictatorial action that does not sit well in the present geopolitical scenario?
PC: WCHS
- Make no mistake, it’s a political action perpetrated by an increasingly dictatorial leader whose convictions are more narcissistic and self-indulgent than care for accepted global norms. This uncalled-for move should make other countries sit up and take notice as to which way the Trump administration is hell-bent on causing even more disruptions. Of course, the military brilliance of Operation Absolute Resolve could be admired for its planning and flawless execution. Trump effectively concluded in 2.5 hours what Putin has been trying to do for almost four years. This is not as oranges/apples as it seems because Venezuela and Ukraine are both large countries with over 3 crore people each. It’s Trump’s first unqualified success of his second term.
PC: Council on Foreign Relations
- Tariffs, inflation, jobs, investment, peace, Ukraine, Gaza, and the bunker-busting in Iran have been damp squibs. But having Maduro in US custody is a cracker, pleasing the domestic support group enormously. As for right/wrong, the US SC has already granted immunity to presidents for official acts. There’s past precedent to start a military op without Congress’s authorization. Reagan in Lebanon, Bush Sr in Panama, Clinton in Yugoslavia, Obama in Libya, and Biden in Yemen. And that’s because US law allows presidents to unilaterally authorize military action lasting up to 90 days. Anyway, they never call it war. For Obama, Libya was kinetic military action; for Trump, Venezuela is a law-enforcement operation. Whatever, it’s an invasion of a sovereign nation. Period.
PC: The Atlantic
- Thus, the risk Trump took in Venezuela wasn’t legal but political. A botched op, or success with bodybags, would have further hurt his plummeting approval ratings. Trump’s Venezuela op was surgically precise, though one chopper was hit but remained operational. No troops were harmed, even while breaking into Maduro’s steel-enforced room. Mind you, Venezuela still has around 20 Sukhoi Su-30 MK2 planes. Something could have gone wrong, and a shot F-35 would have looked very bad indeed. Trump hopes this rally event improves his approval rating dramatically. Saddam Hussein’s capture raised Bush Jr’s rating by 7 points; Osama’s killing gave Obama 6 points. Trump has probably staked his peace Nobel to get Maduro. How will the global community react?
