Arrest at Dawn - Maduro Taken Out of the Country, Trump Confirms US Operation

The news came shortly before sunrise and hit Caracas like a blow: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has been arrested and taken out of the country. Donald Trump confirmed this early Saturday and spoke of a large-scale military operation by the United States against Venezuela and its head of state. The words were brief, the impact enormous. In the capital, the day began with sirens, rumors, and the sense that something fundamental had shifted in these hours.

According to Trump, the operation was carried out jointly by US armed forces and US law enforcement agencies. Maduro’s wife was also reportedly detained. The president initially provided no further details, but announced a statement for later Saturday morning. The location, timing, and exact circumstances of the arrest remained open. It is likewise unclear where Maduro was taken and on what legal basis the seizure occurred. The sparse information left room for speculation as confirmation from Washington spread at breakneck speed.

Just hours earlier, explosions had shaken the Venezuelan capital. At least seven detonations were heard as low-flying aircraft passed over Caracas. The government in Caracas spoke of attacks on civilian and military facilities and blamed the United States. At the same time, the US aviation authority closed Venezuelan airspace to commercial flights, citing ongoing military activities. An official statement from Washington regarding the targets and purpose of the attacks was initially absent.

The explosions drove people into the streets, while others reported tremors and flashes of light in the sky on social networks. Whether there were casualties was initially unknown. The attack apparently lasted less than half an hour, yet it remained unclear whether further steps would follow. Two hours later, the situation in parts of the city was still tense: power outages persisted, traffic was moving, uncertainty remained. With Maduro’s arrest, Venezuela has entered a new and uncharted phase - and the world is waiting for answers.

An act beyond the law - why Maduro’s arrest violates international law

Should the information known so far be confirmed, the arrest and removal from the country of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro would mark a profound rupture. Not only politically, but above all legally. Such an operation would not be a contested gray area, but an open breach of the fundamental principles of the international order.

International law leaves little room for maneuver here. The sovereignty of states is one of its core pillars. It protects not governments, but the system itself. Military force on foreign territory is fundamentally prohibited. Exceptions are narrowly defined: self-defense following an armed attack or an explicit mandate from the United Nations Security Council. There are no indications of either in the present case. No attack by Venezuela on the United States has become known, nor is there a corresponding Security Council resolution.

The seizure of a sitting head of state carries particular weight. Regardless of how authoritarian a regime may be or how serious the allegations against its leadership are, presidents enjoy personal immunity while in office. This rule is not a shield for abuse of power, but an instrument to prevent international escalation. It is intended to prevent states from beginning to remove political adversaries by military means.

The forcible arrest of a president by foreign troops on his own territory undermines precisely this protection. The act becomes even more serious with the subsequent transfer abroad. From a legal perspective, this constitutes a cross-border deprivation of sovereign authority - an act that, at its core, amounts to what international law classifies as an unlawful abduction.

Historical comparisons show how sensitive such interventions are. Even in cases of the gravest crimes, states have avoided this path or later faced massive international criticism. That individual governments have nevertheless resorted to it has never led to recognition of such practices. On the contrary, they are still regarded as cautionary examples of how quickly law can be sacrificed to political calculation. If the operation, as described by Donald Trump, was indeed carried out without international legitimacy, then it would not only be a display of power, but a precedent with dangerous signal effects. What today is directed against an unwanted autocrat can tomorrow become a method - even against states that seek to evade the influence of greater powers.

International law is not an instrument of moral judgment. It is a framework designed to limit violence. If it is ignored at this point, it loses its binding force precisely where it is needed most. The question that remains is therefore not how one judges Nicolas Maduro. The decisive question is whether the international order still upholds the claim of law against the temptation of strength.

To be continued .....