Trump's coup in Venezuela didn't just break the rules it showed there aren't any. We'll all regret that | Nesrine Malik

"For a time when there were at least concerted attempts to justify unilateral interventions and illegal wars in the name of global security, and even a moral duty to liberate the women of Afghanistan or free the Iraqi people. Now, as the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, is in essence abducted and Venezuela taken over by the US, there is barely any effort to situate the coup in any reasoning other than the US's interests."

"The days of the US trying to convince the world that Saddam Hussein did in fact have weapons of mass destruction despite secretly having no reliable intelligence were, in fact, the good old days. Maduro effed around and found out, said the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth. America can project our will anywhere, any time. The US will now run Venezuela said the president, Donald Trump. We are going to have a presence in Venezuela as it pertains to oil."

"It is claimed that Maduro is guilty of narco-terrorism and other charges including Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns [sic] and Destructive Devices against the United States charges that not only fail to clear the bar required for invasion and abduction, but also apparently are not even taken that seriously by Trump himself. Others charged with drug offences have been pardoned. Among them are Honduras's former president Juan Orlando Hernandez and Ross Ulbricht and Larry Hoover, both released from life sentences for convictions including drug trafficking."

US actions toward Venezuela amount to an effective abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and a takeover carried out with minimal legal or diplomatic justification. There is little effort to secure consent from international law-making bodies, allies, or domestic publics. Senior US officials have framed the move in blunt terms about projecting American will and securing a presence related to oil. Criminal charges cited against Maduro do not meet thresholds for invasion and appear selectively enforced given high-profile pardons and releases for other figures convicted of drug offenses. The episode highlights a raw exercise of power over coherent legal reasoning.

Read at www.theguardian.com