This photo taken on the early morning of Jan. 3, 2026 shows a view of the city of Caracas, capital of Venezuela. [Photo/Xinhua]
With his usual Truth Social bravado, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a "large-scale strike" against Venezuela. According to his statement, President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were "captured and flown out of the country" in an operation carried out "in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement."
Trump's phrasing is doing a remarkable amount of work. The U.S. military kidnapped a sitting head of state, yet the action is being framed as a cooperative law enforcement operation. This is the logic of lawfare: using the language of criminal justice to recast acts of force as a procedural necessity.
This rhetorical move is not accidental. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Maduro and several senior Venezuelan officials on charges including narco-terrorism and corruption. By foregrounding "law enforcement," the administration seeks to collapse a crucial distinction: Maduro is no longer presented as a sovereign leader but as a fugitive. What might otherwise be recognized as an act of war is reframed as the execution of an arrest, albeit on an international scale.
This script feels familiar because we've seen it before. On this exact day, Jan. 3, back in 1990, the U.S. finished its "police action" against Manuel Noriega in Panama. William Barr, who would later become attorney general under both George H.W. Bush and Donald Trump, wrote a now-infamous memo arguing that the president has the "inherent constitutional authority" to order the abduction of foreign nationals, even if it violates international law.
The irony here is thick enough to clog the Panama Canal. The U.S. is essentially claiming that its domestic law enforcement has global jurisdiction. The FBI and DEA are now the world's bouncers, authorized to kick in the doors of foreign presidential palaces if they happen to have an indictment filed in a D.C. district court.
The perils of this "lawfare" are twofold:
First, it erodes the principle of sovereignty. If a state can simply label another country's leader a criminal to justify intervention, sovereignty ceases to be a meaningful safeguard and becomes little more than a courtesy.
Second, it establishes a precedent that will not remain unilateral. If U.S. courts can be used to legitimize military action abroad, other powers can adopt a similar strategy, issuing their own indictments, warrants and justifications for force against foreign officials.
By framing this strike as a "law enforcement" matter, Trump is attempting to seize the moral and legal high ground before international opposition can fully mobilize. It is an attempt to make the world's most powerful military look like it's just "doing its job" and "following the rules" — rules that the U.S. wrote, interpreted and enforced at the tip of a bayonet.
But no matter how often U.S. officials call it "law enforcement," a large-scale strike on a foreign capital still looks, smells and acts like an act of war.
In the 21st century, the most effective weapon in the U.S. arsenal isn't the Tomahawk missile. It's the legal memo that justifies it.
中新经纬1月11日电 (林琬斯)近日，有传闻称资生堂中国裁员40%。11日，资生堂中国回应中新经纬称，相关传言与事实不符。 资生堂中国表示，资生堂中国于2024年开始实施新的品牌组合战略以夯实业务基础。相应地，内部也正 中新经纬2月18日电 “自然资源部”微信号18日消息，自然资源部公开通报2023年度国土变更调查专项督察发现的弄虚作假和调查不认真把关不严典型问题。 据介绍，年度国土变更调查结果中的耕地数据是耕地保护和粮食安 傅园慧包车遭遇临时加价 涉事司机被罚款3万元 中新网2月17日电 17日，游泳世界冠军傅园慧通过社交平台发布求助帖称，她在吉林长白山包车出行时遭遇勒索，询问网友是否需要报警。 之后傅园慧更新社交媒体表示，问题 从广州市区驱车一个多小时，到达依山傍水的从化区。香港赛马会从化马场就坐落在从化流溪河畔的半山腰上，四周树木葱郁，山峰连绵。五年前的2月18日，《粤港澳大湾区发展规划纲要》正式发布，提出加强 “奥德修斯”着陆！时隔50多年美国航天器首次登月 中新网2月23日电 综合美媒报道，当地时间22日，美国“直觉机器”公司研发的月球着陆器“奥德修斯”在月球着陆。 美国全国广播公司(NBC)称，这是时隔50多年美国航 2023年澳门旅客总消费同比增近三倍 中新社澳门2月22日电 澳门特区政府统计暨普查局22日公布，在入境旅客人次同比上升近4倍的带动下，2023年全年澳门旅客总消费(不包括博彩)比2022年增加近3倍，至712.5亿元(澳门元， 。本文链接：US attack on Venezuela is warfare dressed as lawfarehttp://www.sushuapos.com/show-5-84986-0.html
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