The US have captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores with American President Donald Trump justifying the actions as necessary to combat “narco-terrorism. When the US military captured President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores on January 3 2026, they violated several foundational international laws, according to legal experts, UN rapporteurs, and international bodies. These violations generally fall into three categories: the prohibition on the use of force, the violation of state sovereignty, and the breach of head-of-state immunity.
The biggest violation cited is the breach of the UN Charter, specifically Article 2(4). The Law: This article mandates that all states must refrain from the ‘threat or use of force’ against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state. The Violation: UN experts and legal scholars argue that the US bombing of civilian and military sites and the deployment of troops onto Venezuelan soil constituted an unprovoked use of armed force.
Lack of Justification: International law provides limited exceptions to this prohibition, specifically if the UN Security Council authorises force or if a state is acting in self-defence against an armed attack. Sources note that the US had not suffered an armed attack from Venezuela, nor was an attack imminent, meaning the self-defence justification was not applicable. Furthermore, there was no UN Security Council authorisation for the operation.
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The operation is described as a breach of treaties and customary laws that protect the sovereignty of nations. The operation violated the Charter of the Organisation of American States (OAS). Article 21 declares the territory of a state to be ‘inviolable’ and prohibits military occupation or measures of force by one state against another.
Article 19 denies any state the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, in the internal or external affairs of another state for any reason. UN Charter: The operation also violated Article 2(7) of the UN Charter, which prevents intervention in matters essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state. Airspace Violation: The unauthorised entry of US aircraft into Venezuelan airspace was a specific violation of the country’s territorial integrity. The capture and indictment of President Maduro violated the principle of head-of-state immunity, a rule rooted in customary international law.
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