A breathtaking U.S. raid that snatched Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from his own soil has detonated a geopolitical storm, splitting the world between Western champions of regime overthrow and a furious “Global South” bloc denouncing the action as a reborn age of imperial muscle. From UN corridors to AU chambers, diplomats are wrestling with the political and humanitarian tremors of Operation Absolute Resolve, even as Maduro now stands in New York to face narco-terror charges — a moment hailed by some as justice, and condemned by others as a brutal strike at national sovereignty.
The African Union delivered a blistering rebuke from Addis Ababa, branding the mission an outright “abduction” and a strike at the heart of international law. Drawing on Africa’s painful memory of foreign intrusion, the AU declared the action a violation of the UN Charter, insisting Venezuela’s crisis must be solved through “inclusive dialogue among Venezuelans themselves,” not foreign gunfire and extraction.
Washington’s holiday calendar, however, was already etched with conflict. On Christmas Day, former U.S. President Donald Trump announced strikes on militant targets in Nigeria — even as he publicly projected calm days later at a glittering New Year’s Eve reception in Mar-a-Lago, vowing simply: “Peace on Earth.”
Behind the scenes, covert plans raced forward.
According to new disclosures, Trump had delivered a final ultimatum to Maduro one week before the raid. When the Venezuelan leader refused to step aside, the U.S. green-lit a perilous operation deploying more than 150 aircraft. Moments after the mission, Trump declared online that the U.S. had carried out a “large-scale strike” and that Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. The Venezuelan leader was subsequently transferred to New York, where he now awaits a Monday court appearance.
The next showdown shifts to the United Nations.
Somalia — presiding over the UN Security Council — has convened an emergency session, as Secretary-General António Guterres voiced “deep alarm,” warning that unilateral force of this magnitude could ripple across the globe and destabilize fragile regions.
International law experts argue the raid may breach Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which forbids the use of force against the territorial integrity of sovereign states. Guterres’ office cautioned that events like these carve “a dangerous precedent,” urging all nations to uphold international law — before the rulebook itself becomes another casualty of power politics.
