The Caracas precedent: Transactional realism and the erosion of sovereignty
America’s dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday triggered global outrage and raised profound questions about the legitimacy, legality and long-term consequences of Washington’s intervention in Venezuela. The operation, hailed by U.S. President Donald Trump as a triumph of American power, has instead exposed deep fractures in international law and global politics. In the early hours of Saturday morning, the United States launched airstrikes across Venezuela, followed by a rapid military operation that captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. They were flown out of the country and placed in U.S. custody, with officials indicating that both will face narco-terrorism charges in American courts. Images later circulated of Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima and being escorted by agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The scale of the operation was striking. Reports suggest that 150 aircraft took part, coordinated from 20 airbases, in what the Pentagon dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve.” For Washington, this was not simply a covert arrest bu
