BY EMMANUEL NNADOZIE ONWUBIKO <\/p>\n
The Times of India ran a story which stated that : Prisoner Of War\u2019: Maduro Breaks Silence After US Capture, Wife Appears Bruised In 1st Court Hearing. The newspaper website also reported the following lines, which I have presented underneath. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am innocent.\u201d Those were the words of deposed Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro as he pleaded not guilty in his first U.S. court appearance following his dramatic capture by American forces. Standing before a New York judge, Maduro called himself a \u201cdecent man,\u201d a \u201ckidnapped president,\u201d and a \u201cprisoner of war,\u201d rejecting sweeping narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges. His wife, Cilia Flores, also pleaded not guilty as questions emerged about her injuries in custody. The case now sets the stage for a prolonged legal and political battle with global implications. Then, another international publication known as justiceinconflict.org wrote similarly as aforementioned. The UN Security Council met, and most members condemned the actions of the USA in Venezuela.<\/p>\n
It states that there is an alluring idea that anything \u2013 including illegal action \u2013 should be taken to protect people from dictators. It is the reasoning that some are tapping into insisting that American military strikes on Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro are welcome. Legal or not, the man responsible for countless atrocities in Venezuela is gone. While no one should sympathize with the likes of Maduro, this view is indefensible. It is legally and morally wrong. More than that, it is dangerous.<\/p>\n
Given U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s open disdain for the Iraq War \u2013 he called it a \u201cbig, fat mistake\u201d that won\u2019t be repeated \u2013 the parallels between American action in Venezuela to that of Iraq in 2003 are staggering. Back then, the Republican administration of George W. Bush lied by claiming that weapons of mass destruction were present in Iraq to justify a military intervention. Claiming it was engaging in \u201cpre-emptive self-defence\u201d, Washington proceeded despite a lack of approval by the United Nations Security Council. At the time, many well-intentioned people believed that Iraqi dictator Sadaam Hussein, who had previously gassed thousands of civilians in Kurdistan to death, needed to be removed, regardless of whether international law permitted it or not.<\/p>\n
What ensued wasn\u2019t just the removal and execution of Hussein, but an illegal war, a bungled occupation marred by human rights abuses and war crimes, and a decision to mass-relieve the Iraqi military which later birthed the Islamic State terrorist group. Meanwhile, the cost of the war in dollars reached trillions. Its cost in death and destruction was even greater. America\u2019s reputation has never recovered. Today, no respected international lawyer would claim the invasion of Iraq was legal or wise.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has claimed that its military strikes on Venezuelan drug dealers were lawful because it was at \u201cwar\u201d with \u201cnarco-terrorists\u201d. Trump has also made clear that the attacks on Venezuela, not unlike Iraq in 2003, are also motivated by oil; Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves in the world. When it comes to drugs, Venezuela is responsible for only a small fraction of the narcotics entering America. Still, in December, Washington designated some drugs, namely fentanyl (which Venezuela doesn\u2019t produce), as \u2018weapons of mass destruction\u2019. Three weeks later, American forces removed Maduro from power. Now, in an eery parallel to Iraq, Washington says it will \u201crun\u201d Venezuela for the foreseeable future. Once again, some seem convinced that doing so was right because a dictator is no longer around to hurt citizens, in conclusion. <\/p>\n
At home, conversations have centred around the illegality of that military violation of the sovereign territory of Venezuela by the USA. <\/p>\n
Falana also accuses Trump of breaching international law in Venezuela, urging US sanctions.<\/p>\n
The Guardian of Nigeria reports that Nigerian human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has called on the United States Congress to sanction President Donald Trump over what he describes as an \u201cillegal invasion\u201d of Venezuela, warning that the military action constitutes a serious violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued on Saturday, Falana condemned reports that U.S. forces bombed Caracas, overthrew President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, and seized control of the country\u2019s oil resources, alleging that scores of unarmed civilians were killed in the operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe abduction and extraordinary rendition of a sitting president of a sovereign state is indeed a blatant violation of international law,\u201d Falana said. \u201cThe hypocrisy and double standard of the so-called international community are so glaring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Falana further accused the Trump administration of attempting to establish a transitional regime in Venezuela designed to exploit the country\u2019s vast oil and gas reserves, describing the move as a step towards turning Venezuela into \u201ca new colony of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
He warned that ideological disagreements between the U.S. and Maduro\u2019s government could not justify external military intervention or regime change.<\/p>\n
\u201cNotwithstanding ideological differences with the Maduro administration, the United States Congress should sanction Mr. Trump for the illegal invasion of Venezuela,\u201d Falana stated.
\n\u2018Reckless Gangsterism\u2019<\/p>\n
According to Falana, the Venezuelan operation fits a pattern of what he calls \u201creckless gangsterism\u201d by Trump during his second term, citing previous military actions carried out without congressional approval<\/p>\n
\u201cIn his second term in office, the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, has repeatedly engaged in reckless gangsterism. A few months ago, he bombed Iran without congressional approval,\u201d Falana said.<\/p>\n
He also recalled Trump\u2019s December 25, 2025, announcement of \u201cpowerful and deadly\u201d airstrikes against militants linked to the Islamic State (IS) in northwestern Nigeria, again bypassing Congress.<\/p>\n
Calls for Judicial and UN Intervention
\nFalana urged the U.S. judiciary to reject what he described as \u201cdubious attempts\u201d by Trump to use domestic courts to undermine Venezuela\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe equally call on the judiciary of the United States to reject the dubious attempt by Mr. Trump to use domestic courts to subvert the sovereign rights of the people of Venezuela guaranteed by international law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also appealed to the United Nations to intervene, warning that global silence could undermine international justice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UN must stand with the people of Venezuela and demand justice and accountability for the fundamental breach of the United Nations Charter if the global body is to uphold the letter and spirit of the Charter and claim any credibility,\u201d Falana emphasised.<\/p>\n
Falana\u2019s statement comes amid escalating international tensions following reports of the U.S. military action in Venezuela, with the former president reportedly detaining Maduro and his wife and charging them with terrorism and narcotics offences in a U.S. District Court.<\/p>\n
As calls for accountability grow, Falana\u2019s intervention highlights the broader debate on the legality of unilateral military interventions and the responsibilities of international institutions in enforcing the rule of law.<\/p>\n
Tje legal mind Mr. Falana also accused Trump of breaching international law in Venezuela, eben as he urges US sanctions.<\/p>\n
Nigerian human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has called on the United States Congress to sanction President Donald Trump over what he describes as an \u201cillegal invasion\u201d of Venezuela, warning that the military action constitutes a serious violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued on Saturday, Falana condemned reports that U.S. forces bombed Caracas, overthrew President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, and seized control of the country\u2019s oil resources, alleging that scores of unarmed civilians were killed in the operation.<\/p>\n
According to Falana, the Venezuelan operation fits a pattern of what he calls \u201creckless gangsterism\u201d by Trump during his second term, citing previous military actions carried out without congressional approval<\/p>\n
\u201cIn his second term in office, the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, has repeatedly engaged in reckless gangsterism. A few months ago, he bombed Iran without congressional approval,\u201d Falana said.<\/p>\n
He also recalled Trump\u2019s December 25, 2025, announcement of \u201cpowerful and deadly\u201d airstrikes against militants linked to the Islamic State (IS) in northwestern Nigeria, again bypassing Congress.<\/p>\n
Calls for Judicial and UN Intervention
\nFalana urged the U.S. judiciary to reject what he described as \u201cdubious attempts\u201d by Trump to use domestic courts to undermine Venezuela\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n
Falana\u2019s statement comes amid escalating international tensions following reports of the U.S. military action in Venezuela, with the former president reportedly detaining Maduro and his wife and charging them with terrorism and narcotics offences in a U.S. District Court.<\/p>\n
As calls for accountability grow, Falana\u2019s intervention highlights the broader debate on the legality of unilateral military interventions and the responsibilities of international institutions in enforcing the rule of law.<\/p>\n
As a human rights practitioner, my organisation HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) condemns the outrageous violation of international law by President Trump which in any case is a continuation of the notorious imperialism that the USA is known for. <\/p>\n
American governments, through the CIA, have been involved in the deliberate sabotage of governments of many nations in Latin America and Africa under the nebulous guise of protecting the so-called interest of the USA. <\/p>\n
But is the interest of the USA bigger than that of the international laws that prohibits the invasion of a sovereign state and the abduction of a sitting head of state who under the extant constitution enjoys immunity from arrest? <\/p>\n
What will the world look like, should another nation stage similar military action targeting Whitehouse and if a serving President of the USA is kidnapped and subjected to local criminal trial by the invading country? <\/p>\n
This new world order of MIGHT IS RIGHT which Trump and Putin of USA and Russia are building up is against the tenets and principles underpining the establishment of the UN and the introduction of international laws and global humanitarian laws. <\/p>\n
President Trump is not bigger than all of the world and must be told the whole truth and nothing but the truth that he ought to free Maduro immediately because his kidnapping and that of his wife violate international laws. So why is America opposed to China’s attempt to take over Taiwan? Why is America opposed to the military invasion of Ukraine by Russia? If the stronger nations are allowed to destabilise smaller nations at their whims and caprices of the leaders of these powerful nations, it would automatically result in the DEATH OF THE UNITED NATIONS’ ORGANIZATION. This new world order of MIGHT IS RIGHT must be treated as being too risky to be allowed. <\/p>\n
*EMMANUEL NNADOZIE ONWUBIKO is the founder of HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) and is former NATIONAL COMMISSIONER OF THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF NIGERIA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BY EMMANUEL NNADOZIE ONWUBIKO The Times of India ran a story which stated that : Prisoner Of War\u2019: Maduro Breaks Silence After US Capture, Wife Appears Bruised In 1st Court Hearing. The newspaper website also reported the following lines, which I have presented underneath. \u201cI am innocent.\u201d Those were the words of deposed Venezuelan President […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[5818,5817,2061],"class_list":["post-9996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-narco-terrorism-drug-trafficking","tag-rejecting","tag-sweeping"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9996"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9998,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9996\/revisions\/9998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}