THE GUARDIAN: Trump is no longer bending the rules – he is demolishing them, with consequences far beyond Caracas
Hardly anyone expected 2026 to be a year of peace, and it was barely two days old when the worst fears were confirmed.
The overnight strikes on Venezuela, the abduction of its leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, and Donald Trump’s declaration that the US would “run” the country and sell its oil, have driven another truck through international law and global norms. But that is not even the most concerning thing about it.
Donald Trump has been driving convoys of bulldozers through that increasingly fragile edifice since taking office nearly a year ago, and now it is mostly wreckage. The events overnight were preceded by airstrikes on small boats in the seas off Central America and the killing of their crews based on unproven allegations of drug trafficking, and the armed seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers on the high seas. It is not yet known how many people were killed in the capture of Maduro in the early hours of Saturday.
In terms of global stability, the worst thing about the Maduro rendition is that it worked. » | Julian Borger, Senior international correspondent | Saturday, January 3, 2026
