In Venezuela, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has taken over as leader of the country after head of state, Nicolás Maduro, was captured by the US and taken to New York, where he and his wife are to be brought to trial. Venezuela’s allies have condemned the US operation, while European countries are appealing international law to be upheld.
No concern about legitimacy
With this operation, the transformation of the world to conform to Trump’s ideas has begun, Habertürk warns (Turkey):
“It can be said that this operation is not just a harbinger of a ‘new order’ that is increasingly under discussion but represents an extremely significant step. International legitimacy plays no role here. Such legitimacy is not being sought for either the operation itself or Maduro’s prosecution. ... The National Security Strategy signed by Trump at the end of last year emphasised the priority of US interests in the Western Hemisphere. ... The first concrete step towards securing the Western Hemisphere has been taken via Venezuela.”
Washington pinning its hopes on puppet leader
Trump is solely interested in oil, power and money, comments columnist Alan Friedman in La Stampa (Italy):
“The EU’s reaction to Trump’s ‘kidnapping’ of Maduro has been weak so far. Perhaps the Europeans thought Trump wanted to replace the regime in Caracas with a democratically elected president. This may happen in the future, but for now, Maria Machado, like Zelensky before her, has been given to understand that she doesn’t hold all the cards. With Delcy Rodríguez, on the other hand, Trump and Rubio think they have bought themselves a puppet. In Washington, it is taken for granted that the United States will renegotiate the oil concessions and claim a share of Venezuela’s assets.”
Colonialist tactics
Journalist and social democratic politician Irene Lozano criticises Trump’s plans in eldiario.es (Spain):
“The motivation behind this is Venezuela’s oil and natural resources. Trump is repeating colonial patterns: he is brazenly seeking to control a sovereign country for his own vested interests. ... Installing friendly governments in other countries in order to exploit their resources is something he has in common with Putin’s imperialist vision. ... The Venezuelans have been freed of Maduro, but there is no democracy in sight. And the world is paying a high price: international law is becoming weaker; the UN, the OAS [Organisation of American States] and multilateralism likewise, while the culture of war is growing stronger.”
Only Venezuelans have the right to decide
Clara Gérard-Rodriguez, a lawyer specialised in international law, appeals in Le Monde (France):
“There is nothing in international law that allows the United States to intervene on the territory of another state to capture its leader. Regardless of the legitimacy of Nicolas Maduro’s power or the crimes he may have committed, only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide their own future through a democratic process and their judicial authorities. ... Only the strict application of international law and the punishment of violations of it – irrespective of the perpetrators or their motives – can still save the international order that emerged from the ruins of World War II.”
New hope for millions
Die Welt’s Latin America correspondent Tobias Käufer applauds the move (Germany):
“Maduro was one of the main causes of the world’s largest migration movement in the last decade. Removing him from power and bringing him to justice should actually be the task of the UN and the International Criminal Court in The Hague. But they failed. Now Donald Trump has taken matters into his own hands. And he will have given new hope to many millions of Venezuelan families. Whether this hope can be fulfilled by a new beginning in the country remains to be seen. At least there is now a small chance of this happening. And that is more than has been achieved by all other attempts over the past 13 years.”
Europe must focus on getting stronger
Seznam Zprávy looks at what conclusions Europe must draw from this (Czech Republic) :
“It has to recognise that the new geopolitical division of spheres of influence is a reality and that the alliance with the US is a thing of the past. The response to this should be a deepening of supranational European cooperation. Firstly, stronger coordination of security and defence policy. And secondly, a focus on the zones of influence that are crucial for Europe, especially its eastern borders. The world order in which norms and rules applied at least formally is transforming into an order in which the law of the strongest prevails. So the only option is to become stronger, and this is only possible for European states through mutual cooperation and defence.”