Dialogos

US Action in Venezuela Deemed Illegal and Sets Dangerous Precedent

Published January 4, 2026, 14:02
US Action in Venezuela Deemed Illegal and Sets Dangerous Precedent

International relations expert Charalambos Chrysostomou described the US intervention in Venezuela as clearly illegal, emphasizing that it creates a dangerous precedent, particularly for smaller countries like Cyprus. According to Mr. Chrysostomou, the intervention primarily aims to control Venezuela's vast oil reserves and demonstrates President Trump's tendency to act as a "global sheriff." The EU's reaction was characterized as tacit legitimization of the US action, while the Trump-Putin relationship was described as a new "Yalta logic." Mr. Chrysostomou stressed that the US action violates international law and the UN Charter, as no country has the right to militarily intervene in another to change its government or arrest its leader. He recalled similar US interventions in Latin America during the 1970s and 1980s, where the US supported governments friendly to it, regardless of their political regime. In cases where governments were not friendly to the US, or attempted to nationalize their resources, the US intervened in a crude manner, using military coups, strengthening the opposition, political assassinations, or abductions like that of Maduro. The arrest of Manuel Noriega in Panama in 1989, due to the nationalization of the Panama Canal, was cited as an example. The current US action is considered particularly dangerous due to the violation of internal rules and the lack of Congressional briefing. Mr. Chrysostomou warned that this precedent could be used by other powerful countries to justify similar actions in the future.