Venezuela Crisis: Trump facing legal, political scrutiny over Maduro detention

Washington: Following the American attack on Venezuela and the detention of the country’s president Nicolás Maduro, US President Donald Trump is now facing legal and political scrutiny. While the US action to apprehend Maduro has drawn sharp criticism worldwide, divisions within the Trump administration are also becoming increasingly apparent. 

Has Pompeo turned against Trump?

A recent statement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has further complicated the matter. Pompeo distanced himself from Trump's claim that the US would "run" Venezuela until a transition of power was complete. Pompeo stated that the US was not running Venezuela, but merely "shaping the future direction." 

"What we are running is the direction things are going to go. We have the power to exert pressure," Pompeo told the media.

What has Pompeo said on Venezuela raid?

“The biggest question is whether this action constituted a military invasion and whether it required the approval of the US Congress,” Pompeo said, adding that it was not an invasion, nor was it a prolonged military operation, and therefore congressional authorization was not necessary. 

He described the US strikes against Venezuela as a "law enforcement operation" aimed at arresting an indicted drug trafficker, but this argument appears to contradict previous statements from the Trump administration.

Why did Trump decide to attack Venezuela?

According to US media reports, in November, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles stated that an attack on Venezuelan soil would be considered an act of war and would require congressional approval. Similarly, Trump administration officials privately informed lawmakers at the time that they lacked the legal basis for a ground attack in Venezuela.

Despite this, just two months later, the US did exactly what it had previously deemed impossible and illegal. Trump himself described it as a "large-scale attack against Venezuela," and it was under this operation that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were apprehended and taken to New York. Maduro faces charges of drug trafficking, terrorism, and illegal arms dealing and is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

What are experts saying about Maduro's arrest?

Experts believe that even if the Trump administration had presented a strong and clear legal argument, justifying such an action would not be easy. The US previously used military force for regime change in Iraq, but that war was authorized by the US Congress in 2002. After 9/11, Congress gave the green light to the war on terror, but several arguments are being made against doing the same in the case of Venezuela.

Some analysts are comparing the strikes against Venezuela  to the invasion of Iraq, but according to many experts, it is more similar to the 1989 Panama operation, when the US arrested President Manuel Noriega on drug trafficking charges. Even then, the action was described as limited, but the US Justice Department acknowledged that the FBI did not have the authority for such an operation.

It is worth noting that previously, US law did not permit the forced extradition of foreign nationals to the United States, but in 1989, the government changed its legal interpretation. Now, the same debate has resurfaced in the case of Venezuela.