The long-standing norms of international diplomacy and law were decisively shattered on 3 January 2026, as United States forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas. The operation, ordered by President Donald Trump, has been met with pro-government protests in the Venezuelan capital but only tepid, hedged statements from much of the international community, effectively endorsing a new era of gangster-state imperialism.
A New Doctrine of Raw Power
Gone are the days, however flawed, of constructing a narrative to justify military intervention. The public statements from Washington have discarded any pretence of legal or moral justification. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth bluntly stated Maduro had "effed around and found out," adding that "America can project our will anywhere, any time." President Trump was equally direct, stating the US would now "run Venezuela" and maintain "a presence in Venezuela as it pertains to oil."
The charges levelled against Maduro, including "narco-terrorism" and conspiracy, are seen as a thin veneer. Their inconsistency is highlighted by Trump's prior pardons of other convicted drug offenders, including former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández. The message, amplified by triumphalist social media posts casting Trump as a "gangster in chief," is clear: US actions are not subject to due process or a higher law. The US is the law.
The Deafening Silence of Complicity
The global response has done little to challenge this new reality. Instead of condemnation, world leaders have retreated into the safety of bureaucratic platitudes. UK Labour leader Keir Starmer said the situation was "fast moving" and he would "establish all the facts"—even as those facts included Maduro's abduction. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas issued statements about "following closely" and respecting "international law," but stopped short of naming the violator.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper exemplified this two-step approach, tweeting that the UK rejected Maduro's legitimacy and supported international law, without acknowledging the law had just been violently broken by an ally. This pattern of condemning the victim while paying lip service to violated principles does not uphold norms; it actively dismantles them.
A World Ripe for Chaos
The consequences of this failure will extend far beyond Venezuela. The incident shreds the final pretence that there are consequences for annexations or regime change, encouraging predators everywhere. Vladimir Putin now sees his doctrine of discretionary military action mirrored and validated by Washington. China watches as it conducts drills around Taiwan. In the Middle East, competition between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates escalates, while Trump openly eyes regime change in Iran and has threatened to annex Greenland.
This tepid diplomacy, born of a fear of angering Trump or an admission of powerlessness, is a catastrophic mistake. Resisting violations and insisting on adherence to rules, even if in vain, is how norms are maintained. Choosing to lie low is not safety; it is, to borrow Hegseth's parlance, "effing around" on a global scale. The world will soon "find out" the price of this cowardice, as the fragile settlement that prevented outright global chaos is irrevocably dismantled.
