Trump's Venezuela gamble

Invasion sets a dangerous precedent

- HARSH V PANT & VIVEK MISHRA

American President Donald Trump's attempt to assuage a Maga (Make America Great Again) base — made restless owing to a variety of factors, including coverups of the President’s involvement with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — has resulted in abrazen economic project to invade oil-rich Venezuela and defend the petrodollar global ecosystem.

The Venezuelan action, including the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, violates the foundational agreements of the United Nations charter that the United States (US) signed in 1945; it rules that states must refrain from using military force against other countries and respect their sovereignty. To be sure, the US has rarely cared about conforming to international law when the situation did not suit the country, but unlike George W Bush’s equally egregious invasion of Iraq in 2003, Operation Absolute Resolve did not have even the fig leaf of ideals or verifiable facts. In post-invasion statements, Mr Trump's declaration that the US would run the country made no mention of defending democracy; he referred instead to Venezuela's oil reserves — the world’s largest — and discussions with US oil companies on how best to exploit them. The administration’s claims that the US was seeking to crack down on Venezuelan drug cartels do not hold water since the country accounts for less than 1 per cent of drugs smuggled into the US.