Hours after United States forces invaded Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, early Saturday (Jan. 3) in an operation codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve, CNN cited sources saying President Donald Trump intends for the United States to “run the country” until a “judicious transition” takes place.
CNN further reported that Washington plans to seize Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, a move that appears to confirm what Maduro has long claimed: that control of oil, not democracy or drugs, is at the heart of Trump’s fixation on Venezuela.
According to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Venezuela holds about 303 billion barrels of oil, roughly one-fifth of the world’s proven reserves, the largest on the planet.
International alarm
The response from the international community was swift. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, through spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, warned that “independently of the situation in Venezuela, these developments constitute a dangerous precedent.”
“He’s deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected,” Dujarric added.
Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter is unequivocal: All members shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.