The U.S. has finally toppled Venezuela’s leadership after its elite military unit, Delta Force, launched a surprise attack in Caracas in an operation to capture Nicolás Maduro and bring him to trial in New York.
Washington’s effort to upend the current government in Venezuela falls in line with Donald Trump administration’s stance toward Maduro’s government, labeling it an illegal drug cartel organization.
However, critics believe that the move is less about drugs and more about Venezuela’s rich natural resources.
Experts are worried that Trump’s assault on Venezuela’s sovereignty could change the course of the global system. This action has eroded sovereignty norms—a system that gives a country the right to govern itself and its people.
American political scientist Stephen Walt explained that the U.S. has set a precedent whereby powerful states can now decide the legitimacy of weaker governments.
“This risks normalizing external regime engineering and weakening the Westphalian principle of sovereignty that underpins the global order.”
In simple terms, this means that weaker states no longer have exclusive sovereignty over their territory or the monopoly of force within their recognized borders. States are no longer seen as equal entities in the international arena; weaker states may not possess the right to govern themselves if superpowers deem their governments illegitimate.
Walt added that “even if justified on human rights or democratic grounds, it would signal that power—not law—ultimately determines political survival.”
“This would weaken restraints on intervention globally and make regime security a central concern for leaders in weaker states.”
International law scholar Martti Koskenniemi said that this action has exposed the fragility of international law when confronted by great-power interests.
“It would blur the line between law enforcement and coercive regime change, encouraging selective justice and reinforcing perceptions that international law is applied unevenly.”
Opening a Can of Worms
The global system is in a state of anarchy; there is no world policeman that will come to a nation’s aid when it is under threat. It resembles a survival-of-the-fittest environment, where survival depends on increasing military capabilities to deter threats.
This is how the security dilemma emerges. After the capture of Maduro, many weaker states around the world may now feel compelled to nuclearize their arsenals to deter similar actions and protect their sovereignty. This is how North Korea has survived in recent years.
Security dilemma theorist Robert Jervis said that nuclear weaponisation dramatically intensifies the security dilemma.
“Defensive measures are indistinguishable from offensive intentions, leading rivals to assume worst-case scenarios. The result is rapid arms racing, crisis instability, and heightened risks of miscalculation with global consequences.”