#Maduro’s kidnapping is clearly illegal under both international law and U.S. law. One option for the U.S. would be to obtain “retroactive consent” by quickly recognizing a transitional government that “requests” extradition, thereby converting a kidnapping into a cooperative transfer.
The timing appears intentional—the #Noriega precedent in #Panama might be invoked as justification, even though that precedent itself was legally contested and internationally condemned. While the kidnapping is almost universally viewed as unlawful, Washington will rely on creative legal fiction, or more realistically, geopolitical impunity, to proceed.
The UK has already shown total disregard for international law in its reaction to #Israel’s genocidal assault on #Gaza—continuing arms sales despite the #ICJ’s rulings on plausible genocide and the #ICC’s arrest warrants for Israeli leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Now the UK remains silent on the kidnapping of Maduro. It’s notable that the #UK was not involved (unlike the 1953 forced regime change for oil access which installed the Shah in Iran), but why isn’t Starmer condemning #Trump now?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jan/03/caracas-explosions-venezuela-maduro-latest-news-updates-live?page=with:block-69590c348f085ed25e9e2f86#block-69590c348f085ed25e9e2f86
