Other than Chavistas, I doubt anyone is shedding a tear over the rendition of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro on Saturday. I have heard that the War Powers Act and UN Charter were violated. That's a hard sell. Under the War Powers Act, the President must notify Congress within 48 hours of being engaged in hostilities, and he has done so. And the Charter does allow one nation to attack another if it is doing so to defend itself, as the US could claim after being inundated with illegal drugs. So I have no problem with grabbing Maduro, who is under indictment. His real crime is what he has done to his own people, who suffer from malnutrition, widespread violent crime and brutal repression. He should answer for that as well.
But that's not why Trump has taken such action. It's not about illegal drugs flooding into this country. It's not about Maduro's refusal to honor an election in which he lost. It's not about his brutal regime. Those are mere pretext for what Trump really wants. He was pretty open about it and mentioned it at least 20 times in a rambling news conference in which he announced what happened. It's about the oil. In his own words, he wants to "run" the country, just like he wants to "run" Canada and Greenland. He wants the natural resources.
I believe that Bernie Sanders put it best:
"Trump's attack on Venezuela will not make the United States and the world safer. Quite the contrary. This brazen violation of international law gives a green light to any nation on earth that may wish to attack another country to seize their resources or change their governments.
"This is the horrific logic of force that Putin used to justify his brutal attack on Ukraine.
"Trump and his administration have made it clear that they want to revive the Monroe Doctrine, the belief that the United States has the right to dominate the affairs of the hemisphere. They have spoken openly about controlling Venezuela's oil reserves, the largest in the world. Let’s not hesitate to call this policy out for what it is. This is rank imperialism. It recalls the darkest chapters of U.S. interventions in Latin America, which have left a terrible legacy. It will and should be condemned by the democratic world."
Under Trump's logic, Putin's attack on Ukraine is entirely justified, and China would have every right to grab Taiwan.
Aside from the blatant resource grab, we should all know by now that occupying forces are never welcome in another country.
