Venezuela Grab: Who’ll Stand Up for International Law?
Carney muffs a chance while Poilievre celebrates Trump’s dangerous new rules.
Michael Harris 5 Jan 2026The Tyee
Michael Harris, a Tyee contributing editor, is a highly awarded journalist and documentary maker.Our journalism is supported by readers like you. Click here to support The Tyee.
US President Donald Trump boasts about his Venezuela attack as Secretary of State Marco Rubio watches on Jan. 3. Photo by Alex Brandon, the Associated Press.
Listen to this article
8 min
So, the president who falls asleep in cabinet meetings has now invaded a sovereign nation and abducted its leader and his wife to face “justice” in the United States.
Announcements, Events & more from Tyee and select partners
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson Comes to the Chan Centre
The award-winning author will discuss her bestselling book ‘Theory of Water’ on Jan. 29.
That makes it official. America has its first rogue president, Donald J. Trump. As a result, the United States and the rest of the globe are suddenly in a precarious place. The rule of law is at risk of being replaced by an old and ugly idea: might is right.
In that throwback world, the fates of the United States’ closer neighbours would be far more at risk — Canada, right next door, included. As Trump has noted in his musings about harming our economy until we are ripe for annexation, we are a nation with resources the United States covets and a far smaller population and military.
And yet Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first statement about the violent Maduro extraction mentioned nothing about its patent illegality.
It fell to his foreign minister, Anita Anand, to vaguely post on social media: “In keeping with our long-standing commitment to upholding the rule of law and democracy, Canada calls on all parties to respect international law.”
The Tyee is supported by readers like you Join us and grow independent media in Canada
At least NDP interim leader Don Davies was full-throated in his condemnation of the “totally illegal” U.S. operation.
But Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has joined with others cheering Trump on. Why? Spin and optics.
The leader who was deposed by U.S. military force is no doubt a vile dictator, credibly accused of everything from dealing drugs to murder to stealing Venezuela’s 2024 election. Hence, getting rid of Nicolás Maduro in this way was not only justified but downright admirable, right?
Absolutely not.
Billionaires Don’t Control Us
Get The Tyee’s free daily newsletter in your inbox.
Journalism for readers, not profits.
EmailSubscribe
This is not the first time Trump has appealed to the authoritarian logic that some people are so bad that they deserve whatever they get — including summary execution. No due process required.
Case in point. When the U.S. military began blowing up alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, Trump justified the killings by accusing their crews of being “narco-terrorists.” Bad guys bringing cocaine and fentanyl into the United States to kill Americans. The president called those drugs “weapons of mass destruction,” the same, bogus rallying cry that led the United States into its calamitous invasion of Iraq.
As of Dec. 25, 115 people on those boats have been killed by U.S. forces, including two who survived the initial attack and were murdered waving for help as they clung to wreckage.
The Trump administration has produced no credible evidence that they know who or what was on these doomed vessels or where they were headed.
Nor has Trump provided any legal justification for his lethal action.
Accordingly, that action has been widely denounced as illegal — not self-defence, as Trump claims. More like murder on the high seas.
And that is one of the reasons that no one should be patting Donald Trump on the back after his attack on Venezuela.
Instead, they should be taking note of the fact that Trump is fighting lawlessness with lawlessness of his own — based on a clear violation of his oath of office, in which he pledged as president to uphold the U.S. Constitution.
Towards ‘a world of violence, chaos and instability’
As the New York Times put it, by bombing Venezuela and abducting its leader and his wife, Trump is “pushing our country toward an international crisis without valid reasons. If Mr. Trump wants to argue otherwise, the Constitution spells out what he must do: Go to Congress. Without congressional approval, his actions violate U.S. law.”
Trump never sought such approval, suggesting that Congress might “leak” the details of the Venezuelan mission.
And it’s not only the highest U.S. law that Trump is breaking. The secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres, has described Trump’s attack on Venezuela as a “dangerous precedent.”
A statement from the UN said that “the secretary general continues to emphasize the importance of full respect — by all — of international law, including the UN Charter.” That charter calls for respecting every country’s sovereignty.
Trump’s attack on Venezuela has been widely denounced by those world leaders who understand the harrowing new order it signals. From South America, the criticism is particularly vehement.
Trump’s Coup Plans for Venezuela Are Bad News for Alberta’s Oilsandsread more
This is how Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil, put it: “Attacking countries in flagrant violation of international law is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos and instability.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro described the U.S. military action as an “assault on the sovereignty of Latin America.”
Norway’s foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, said, “The American intervention in Venezuela is not in accordance with international law.”
This throws into sharp contrast Canada’s more muted and weak-kneed response. Not only did Carney not criticize the U.S. attack on Venezuela, despite the obvious violation of international law and all that could mean. He welcomed the removal of Maduro as an opportunity for Venezuela to achieve democracy after decades of repressive dictatorship that began with Hugo Chávez.
Carney called for that march toward freedom to be led by Venezuelans. Sadly, that won’t be happening. In using military force to bring about regime change in Venezuela, Trump made a stunning announcement. The president said that the United States would “run” Venezuela for an unspecified time, because he didn’t want another Maduro in charge.
And not only would the United States rule the country for the time being, but Trump announced that U.S. oil companies would be returning to Venezuela to take charge of the country’s vast oil reserves, the largest in the world.
Listen to this article
8 min
So, the president who falls asleep in cabinet meetings has now invaded a sovereign nation and abducted its leader and his wife to face “justice” in the United States.
Announcements, Events & more from Tyee and select partners
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson Comes to the Chan Centre
The award-winning author will discuss her bestselling book ‘Theory of Water’ on Jan. 29.
That makes it official. America has its first rogue president, Donald J. Trump. As a result, the United States and the rest of the globe are suddenly in a precarious place. The rule of law is at risk of being replaced by an old and ugly idea: might is right.
In that throwback world, the fates of the United States’ closer neighbours would be far more at risk — Canada, right next door, included. As Trump has noted in his musings about harming our economy until we are ripe for annexation, we are a nation with resources the United States covets and a far smaller population and military.
And yet Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first statement about the violent Maduro extraction mentioned nothing about its patent illegality.
It fell to his foreign minister, Anita Anand, to vaguely post on social media: “In keeping with our long-standing commitment to upholding the rule of law and democracy, Canada calls on all parties to respect international law.”
The Tyee is supported by readers like you Join us and grow independent media in Canada
At least NDP interim leader Don Davies was full-throated in his condemnation of the “totally illegal” U.S. operation.
But Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has joined with others cheering Trump on. Why? Spin and optics.
The leader who was deposed by U.S. military force is no doubt a vile dictator, credibly accused of everything from dealing drugs to murder to stealing Venezuela’s 2024 election. Hence, getting rid of Nicolás Maduro in this way was not only justified but downright admirable, right?
Absolutely not.
Billionaires Don’t Control Us
Get The Tyee’s free daily newsletter in your inbox.
Journalism for readers, not profits.
EmailSubscribe
This is not the first time Trump has appealed to the authoritarian logic that some people are so bad that they deserve whatever they get — including summary execution. No due process required.
Case in point. When the U.S. military began blowing up alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, Trump justified the killings by accusing their crews of being “narco-terrorists.” Bad guys bringing cocaine and fentanyl into the United States to kill Americans. The president called those drugs “weapons of mass destruction,” the same, bogus rallying cry that led the United States into its calamitous invasion of Iraq.
As of Dec. 25, 115 people on those boats have been killed by U.S. forces, including two who survived the initial attack and were murdered waving for help as they clung to wreckage.
The Trump administration has produced no credible evidence that they know who or what was on these doomed vessels or where they were headed.
Nor has Trump provided any legal justification for his lethal action.
Accordingly, that action has been widely denounced as illegal — not self-defence, as Trump claims. More like murder on the high seas.
And that is one of the reasons that no one should be patting Donald Trump on the back after his attack on Venezuela.
Instead, they should be taking note of the fact that Trump is fighting lawlessness with lawlessness of his own — based on a clear violation of his oath of office, in which he pledged as president to uphold the U.S. Constitution.
Towards ‘a world of violence, chaos and instability’
As the New York Times put it, by bombing Venezuela and abducting its leader and his wife, Trump is “pushing our country toward an international crisis without valid reasons. If Mr. Trump wants to argue otherwise, the Constitution spells out what he must do: Go to Congress. Without congressional approval, his actions violate U.S. law.”
Trump never sought such approval, suggesting that Congress might “leak” the details of the Venezuelan mission.
And it’s not only the highest U.S. law that Trump is breaking. The secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres, has described Trump’s attack on Venezuela as a “dangerous precedent.”
A statement from the UN said that “the secretary general continues to emphasize the importance of full respect — by all — of international law, including the UN Charter.” That charter calls for respecting every country’s sovereignty.
Trump’s attack on Venezuela has been widely denounced by those world leaders who understand the harrowing new order it signals. From South America, the criticism is particularly vehement.
Trump’s Coup Plans for Venezuela Are Bad News for Alberta’s Oilsandsread more
This is how Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil, put it: “Attacking countries in flagrant violation of international law is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos and instability.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro described the U.S. military action as an “assault on the sovereignty of Latin America.”
Norway’s foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, said, “The American intervention in Venezuela is not in accordance with international law.”
This throws into sharp contrast Canada’s more muted and weak-kneed response. Not only did Carney not criticize the U.S. attack on Venezuela, despite the obvious violation of international law and all that could mean. He welcomed the removal of Maduro as an opportunity for Venezuela to achieve democracy after decades of repressive dictatorship that began with Hugo Chávez.
Carney called for that march toward freedom to be led by Venezuelans. Sadly, that won’t be happening. In using military force to bring about regime change in Venezuela, Trump made a stunning announcement. The president said that the United States would “run” Venezuela for an unspecified time, because he didn’t want another Maduro in charge.
And not only would the United States rule the country for the time being, but Trump announced that U.S. oil companies would be returning to Venezuela to take charge of the country’s vast oil reserves, the largest in the world.