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The US has invaded countries and deposed leaders before. Its military action against Venezuela feels different4.30 MB
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Magazine article
The US has invaded countries and deposed leaders before. Its military action against Venezuela feels different
The Conversation, Vol.4 January 2026
2026
Appears in The Conversation
Abstract
In the early hours of Saturday morning, US special forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from his home in Caracas and flew him out of the country. US President Donald Trump announced that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would face federal narco-terrorism charges in New York.
For anyone familiar with the history of US interventions in Latin America and the Caribbean, the basic pattern is grimly familiar: a small state in Washington’s “backyard”, a leader deemed unacceptable, military force applied with overwhelming effect, and a government removed overnight.
Yet what makes Venezuela’s case different – and profoundly alarming – is the brazen nature of the months-long US military operations against the country based on shifting and shaky justifications, with little evidence.
This moment is also significant, with many scholars already warning that international law is in deep crisis.
Details
- Title
- The US has invaded countries and deposed leaders before. Its military action against Venezuela feels different
- Authors
- Juan Zahir Naranjo Cáceres - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
- Publication details
- The Conversation, Vol.4 January 2026
- Publisher
- Conversation Media Group
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.64628/AA.xqgud9mnf
- ISSN
- 2201-5639
- Copyright note
- © The Conversation Media Group. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Organisation Unit
- School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991201650202621
- Output Type
- Magazine article
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