A demonstrator waves a Venezuelan flag during a protest against U.S. military action in Venezuela, at Lafayette Square in front of the White House, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. military has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 3, 2026. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
President Donald Trump has brought Americans into an undeclared, unprovoked, illegal, and unconstitutional war against a sovereign country, murdered its citizens, and kidnapped its leader in what Trump called “a large scale strike” against Venezuela and its President Nicolas Maduro.
Why war? For what reason? Trump is pushing our country into war without any explanation. The Constitution requires Trump to go to Congress. Without congressional approval, Trump’s actions violate U.S. law. But as we know, Trump spits on the U.S. Constitution. And thanks to the United States Supreme Court, Trump has absolute immunity for his war crimes. Trump understands one five-letter word only: power.
Trump claims he is combatting “narco-terrorists.” But Venezuela is not a major producer of drugs like fentanyl, and most of the cocaine it does produce goes to Europe, not the U.S. And it is noteworthy that Trump has pardoned several major narcotics traffickers, including Juan Orlando Hernandez, who ran a huge drug operation when he was president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022.
But Trump virtually acknowledged that the U.S. invasion of Venezuela and arrest of Maduro has nothing to do with drugs — it’s for Venezuela’s oil. To those credulous Trump cheerleaders, ask yourselves whether the United States is behaving any differently than Russia, which invaded its neighbor in a war of pure aggression. A cynic might claim, perhaps accurately, that Trump’s remarkable decision, which may get Americans killed, is done to distract the public from the Epstein files, a disastrous economy, Trump’s sinking popularity, and increasing signs of his senility.
Some critical observers saw this coming. Over the past few months, Trump has deployed a military armada in the Caribbean to attack Venezuela from the sea. Until now, the president has deployed an aircraft carrier, at least seven other warships, scores of aircraft and 15,000 U.S. troops for illegal attacks on small boats that he alleged without any evidence were transporting drugs. As a preface to the invasion, last Tuesday and Wednesday, the U.S. Southern Command announced it struck another five small boats that it claims were being operated by “narco-terrorists.” It killed another 13 people and may have left some survivors. These latest strikes bring the total to at least 35 and the number of people killed to at least 115.
The U.S. is now at war. Given Trump’s invasion, and his decision to “run” Venezuela, it may be relevant to recall what Defense (War) Secretary Pete Hegseth said in his speech to military leaders from around the globe in Quantico, Virginia, on September 30.
“We fight to win. We unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy. We also don’t fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our war fighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement. Just common sense, maximum lethality and authority for war fighters.”
Trump is a war criminal. The consensus of military law experts is that discussions about the “rules of engagement,” and whether alleged civilian drug traffickers are criminals or “lawful combatants,” and what it’s like to be in combat, is beside the point. Trump and his military agents have committed murders on the high seas. Trying to analyze the subject and pick apart the nuances of military law is, as lawyers would famously argue, is irrelevant, incompetent, and immaterial.
Trump and his enablers have violated U.S. law by killing people intentionally without legal justification or excuse. They have also violated International Law and committed war crimes. Under Article 8 of the Geneva Convention, a “war crime” includes: willful killing; torture or inhuman treatment; willfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health; extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities; intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives;
Maduro may be an illegitimate ruler. But his presidency poses no threat to the United States that would justify military action without Congressional authorization. Trump, in an absolute reversal of his public pronouncements, is trying to force a change in a country that has for a long while, including the 2020 election claims of Venezuelan interference, has been his nemesis. Trump couldn’t annex Canada or Greenland so he’s going after Venezuela, and maybe all of Latin America.
Trump is a common criminal, the only convicted felon ever elected president.
He is also a war criminal.
https://www.amny.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Maduro-indictment-010326.pdf
Bennett L. Gershman is a distinguished professor at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
By Bennett L. Gershman
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