“Even if there are serious accusations against Maduro, they do not give one state the right to unilaterally act militarily on the territory of another. From the point of view of the use of force in international law, also not at all, because the USA did not receive a legal international mandate, that is, the consensus of the members of the UN Security Council to implement force. In this case, the USA acted unilaterally, violating international law. And the Russian Federation did the same on February 24, 2022 with a general military invasion of Ukraine, which tells us that the trend of the behavior of the great powers is on the way,” says Ahatović.
He adds that international law formally exists, but in practice it has been deeply eroded.
“Great powers apply it selectively – when it suits them, they refer to it, and when it bothers them, they ignore it. This turns the international order from a system of rules into a system of power. Of course, in order to project a force that enables you to dominate and power, you must possess it, that is, have a trained and equipped military force that can perform complex tasks anywhere in the world in a short period of time, such as this latest case of the kidnapping of President Maduro in Venezuela,” says Ahatović.
He states that accusations about the “narco-state” have been used for years as a propaganda framework for the delegitimization of the authorities in Caracas.
“Experience shows that such narratives are often used as a pretext for political and military interventions. President Trump himself said at a press conference on the occasion of the military action in Venezuela that the military action was not carried out just for the sake of drug trafficking, which according to him is a problem but which is very difficult to prove to the ruling elites. We will see at the trial what kind of arguments the American agencies for the protection of legality have collected in the case of Maduro,” says Ahatović.
He adds that Trump will not stop as long as he estimates that the political cost will not be greater than the benefits.
“With this action, he primarily sent a message that the USA still has primarily military capability and the will to act unilaterally, regardless of international norms. It is a demonstration of force – towards allies, opponents and the domestic public – a message that America, in his view, is still the “main boss”, says Ahatović at the end of this conversation.
SG
(Vijesti.ba)
