Experts in international law said the Trump administration had muddled the legal issues by claiming the operation was both a targeted law enforcement mission and the potential preludeto long-term control of Venezuela by the U.S. The U.S. Congress has the power to declare war but the president is the commander-in-chief, and presidents of both parties have justified carrying out military action when it was limited in scope and in the national interest. "A criminal indictment alone doesn't provide authority to use military force to depose a foreign government, and the administration will probably hang this also on a theory of self-defense," said Matthew Waxman, a law professor at Columbia Universityspecializing in national security law.
Author: Tom Hals, Andrew Goudsward
Published at: 2026-01-03 22:12:00
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