{"id":573875,"date":"2025-11-16T09:52:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T09:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/573875\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T09:52:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T09:52:21","slug":"the-us-is-now-a-rogue-state-look-at-its-extrajudicial-killings-off-venezuelas-coast-simon-tisdall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/573875\/","title":{"rendered":"The US is now a rogue state – look at its extrajudicial killings off Venezuela\u2019s coast | Simon Tisdall"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK\u2019s reported decision<\/a> to restrict intelligence-sharing with the Pentagon on suspected drug-traffickers\u2019 boats in the Caribbean is a modest yet symbolic act of resistance to Donald Trump\u2019s imperialist revival<\/a>. Britain is said to have objected to repeated, lethal US airstrikes on alleged smugglers off Venezuela\u2019s coast \u2013 which have been widely condemned as illegal extrajudicial killings<\/a> amounting to murder.<\/p>\n

The strikes appear to foreshadow direct US attacks on Venezuela<\/a> itself. Trump makes no secret of his wish to topple Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s authoritarian, ostensibly leftist regime. Most Venezuelans support this aim, but not the means. Regime change forcibly imposed by a foreign power contravenes international law, unless it is authorised by the UN or undertaken in self-defence as a last resort. Legal or not, it never ends well.<\/p>\n

The US lacks a persuasive justification<\/a> for war, despite Trump\u2019s fanciful portrayal of Maduro, and Latin American cartel bosses, as \u201cnarco-terrorists\u201d<\/a> with whom he deems the US to be at war. But Trump doesn\u2019t care. He believes that he and his country are above the law, that might makes right. Call it by its name: this is exactly the kind of brash, monarchic imperialism that the New World colonists famously rebelled against.<\/p>\n

The self-aggrandising, regionally expansionist outlook of the second Trump administration is the most striking recent manifestation of the new era of state lawlessness<\/a> that has taken hold around the world. The concept of a common rulebook and joint action to tackle shared global problems has been scorned. In Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has taken state lawlessness to new extremes \u2013 and no one seems able or willing to stop him.<\/p>\n

Two rapidly developing conflicts may soon drive home the dangers. One is the anticipated US assault on Venezuela, which Trump, as arrogant as any pith-helmeted 19th-century empire-builder, could trigger imminently. The other is the prospective reigniting of the summer\u2019s unfinished Israel-Iran war<\/a> alongside a renewed Israeli offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon \u2013 conflagrations that could be much worse this time.<\/p>\n

Trump, as usual, has no plan for Venezuela<\/a>, no thought for the \u201cday after\u201d. Like George W Bush in Iraq in 2003, he seems to think functioning democracy will somehow magically materialise in a post-coup Caracas. In any case, he does not value representative governance per se \u2013 nor the security and prosperity of Venezuelans. Of greater interest are the country\u2019s oil, gas and minerals, and scoring an easy win.<\/p>\n

A questionable precedent, bruited about in Washington, is the 1989 US invasion<\/a> that overthrew Panama\u2019s dictator, Manuel Noriega \u2013 also accused of drug trafficking. Trump should beware. Operation Just Cause was not straightforward. Several hundred civilians, and some US troops, died. Venezuela is a much bigger, less easily subjugated country.<\/p>\n

I reported first-hand on the Panama crisis for the Guardian. Much went wrong then for the \u201cpiranhas\u201d \u2013 Noriega\u2019s name for the invaders<\/a> \u2013 and could do so again. As ever, it\u2019s political. In 1989, the newly elected George HW Bush needed a victory in his signature presidential \u201cwar on drugs\u201d. Noriega, a former CIA informant, knew too much; Bush, a former CIA director, wanted him silenced. Demonising Maduro helps Trump argue that he, too, is beating the drug barons. And limited military operations in Venezuela could distract attention from his own skeleton in the cupboard: Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n

Problems of state lawlessness in the Middle East centre principally on Israel and Iran. Forced reluctantly into a Gaza ceasefire (which it is failing to honour), Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s violence-addicted, peace-averse regime is seeking new targets. Record numbers of mostly unchecked, unpunished Jewish settler attacks<\/a> on West Bank Palestinians, notably on food and water supplies<\/a>, recall genocidal Israeli actions in Gaza.<\/p>\n

A screengrab from a video posted by Pete Hegseth shows what the US defence secretary says is a strike on a vessel carrying narcotics in the Pacific on 9 November 2025. Photograph: US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth\u2019s X Account\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Israel is bombing southern Lebanon<\/a> again, too, claiming the Lebanese army has failed to disarm Hezbollah after last year\u2019s truce and that the Iran-backed fighters are regrouping. \u201cThe result of this reality is a growing likelihood that at some point in the coming weeks, Israel\u2019s attacks on Lebanon will escalate into a full-scale war once again,\u201d the Haaretz newspaper<\/a> commentator Amir Tibon warned.<\/p>\n

Resumed, direct warfare between Israel and Iran is the biggest worry. Trump claimed in June that Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities had been \u201cobliterated\u201d<\/a>. He lied. Tellingly, both he and Netanyahu have since threatened to strike again. Analysts suggest another Israeli onslaught is inevitable, given unallayed suspicions about Iran\u2019s nuclear capabilities<\/a>, the collapse of negotiations and UN inspections, and the reimposition of tougher sanctions.<\/p>\n

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In political disarray, plagued by economic crises and social unrest, and deserted by key allies such as Syria, whose leader met Trump last week<\/a>, a weakened Iran is a tempting target for Netanyahu, who insists it still poses an existential threat. But their very vulnerability could render Tehran\u2019s mullahs more dangerous. Iran is reportedly building thousands of missiles. If attacked, it may hit back much harder next time.<\/p>\n

A repeat bout of unprovoked, US-backed Israeli aggression would be another instance of extreme state lawlessness. Yet who would stop it? Not the UN. Not the international courts. Not a cowed Europe, nor Trump-appeasing Arab states. A similarly woeful saga of fecklessness, indifference and impotence could unfold if, say, China were to invade Taiwan. Or if Russia invaded Moldova<\/a>, or even Nato member Estonia.<\/p>\n

This is the world as it is now. Rampant state lawlessness finds ultimate expression in an accelerating global nuclear weapons race unconstrained by arms control treaties or common sense. Trump is resuming nuclear tests<\/a>; Putin is following suit. Xi Jinping flaunts China\u2019s atomic arsenal; Netanyahu conceals Israel\u2019s. Indian and Pakistani leaders threaten mutual destruction. North Korea\u2019s Kim Jong-un is building nukes like there\u2019s no tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Which, at this rate, there may not be. They\u2019re all rogue states now. As previously noted<\/a>: these people could get us all killed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK\u2019s reported decision to restrict intelligence-sharing with the Pentagon on suspected drug-traffickers\u2019 boats in the Caribbean is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-573875","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-united-states","9":"tag-us","10":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115558766536955331","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}