When power becomes the only permission slip

In the early hours of Saturday, 3 January, the world watched something most people thought belonged to history books, not modern headlines.

Explosions were reported across parts of Caracas. Air strikes hit military-linked sites. Within hours, the United States said it had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and flown them out of the country to face charges in the US.

This wasn’t just another diplomatic crisis. This was a hard reset – on regional stability, on international law and on how power is used in the ‘rules-based order’.

But here’s the real question: was this really about drugs, or was that just the wrapper?

What we know

The US carried out strikes in Venezuela. Maduro and Flores were taken to the US, where both pleaded not guilty to charges tied to drug trafficking and narco-terror allegations in a Manhattan federal court.

The move triggered immediate international alarm, including UN Security Council emergency discussions and warnings about sovereignty and legality.

The US frames the operation as counter-narcotics action, treating Maduro as an indicted criminal rather than a legitimate head of state. But many others see it as a sovereignty violation, a dangerous precedent, and a return to interventionism – with oil and regional dominance sitting in the background.

Think about which motive you believe is the real driver: drugs and narco-terror, oil and resources, regional dominance (Monroe Doctrine revived), the dollar versus Brics and China angle, US domestic politics plus power projection – or a combination of all the above.

The truth is that big interventions rarely have only one reason.

What happened

On 3 January, news broke of air strikes, a rapid operation and the kidnapping of Maduro from the country.

Two days later, Maduro appeared in a US court, pleaded not guilty, and the legal fight began. It was not just over drugs, but over the legality of the abduction itself.

The UN and global reaction was swift: strong condemnation and warnings about the precedent, its legality and uncertainty about stability across Latin America.

Now let’s go beyond the headline reasons. You’ll hear the standard line: drug trafficking, gangs, narco-terrorism. But if it was only that, then why did it escalate into air strikes and the kidnapping of a head-of-state?

Is it about drugs?

The US treats Maduro as an indicted figure tied to narcotics networks. That makes it easier to sell the operation politically: ‘We’re protecting the people of the United States.’

But even if allegations exist, the leap from indictment to military strikes raises major questions under international law. Many experts argue it violates the UN Charter unless strict conditions are met.

Here’s the key question: if this is law enforcement, why does it look like regime removal?

Or is it about oil?

Venezuela sits on massive oil reserves. US President Donald Trump publicly spoke about US involvement in Venezuela’s oil sector and governance after the operation.

Oil alone doesn’t explain the method, but oil does explain the endgame: control, contracts, rebuilding, leverage, influence. Trump said the US would take a leadership role in rebuilding Venezuela, with a particular emphasis on the oil sector.

The test question: what policies come next – a restructuring of Venezuela’s state-owned oil and natural gas company PDVSA, oil contracts, changes in sanctions? Will we see more US firms re-entering the country?

Reboot of Monroe Doctrine?

A growing number of analysts describe this as a shift in US posture: a strong hemisphere doctrine, “Americas for the (US) Americans”, and a warning signal to the region.

If the US can do this to Venezuela, who will be next, and how does Latin America respond?

The dollar, Brics and China

This theory is spreading fast online: Venezuela was selling oil in non-dollar currencies, building alternatives, courting Brics, deepening ties with China and Russia – and therefore becoming a strategic target.

Here’s my take: this may be a factor, but it’s rarely the only trigger. The more grounded way to write it is this: it’s not about petrodollars alone. It’s about resources, geopolitics, spheres of influence and great-power competition, all converging.

Do official documents and actions consistently show currency dominance as a priority, or is this mostly public narrative?

The uncomfortable part: international law

In a polarised US, foreign operations can become political theatre: strength, decisiveness, ‘we’re in charge’ messaging, and the symbolism of a kidnapped leader.

Does this become a template for the expansion of executive power without meaningful checks and balances?

Here’s the simple issue. The UN Charter generally prohibits the use of force against another state except under narrow conditions (like self-defence or UN authorisation). Many legal experts argue the US operation breaches those rules.

So the next question is bigger than Maduro: are we entering an era where ‘power’ is the permission slip? If we normalise this precedent, then every powerful country will claim its own justification. And then what?

Risks nobody should ignore

A power vacuum and legitimacy crisis inside Venezuela raises the question: who truly controls the institutions now?

Regional destabilisation could follow through refugees, border tensions and proxy dynamics.

We might see a cycle of retaliation – not necessarily direct war, but asymmetric responses.

Energy shockwaves are possible, as oil policy shifts can ripple globally, especially if governance becomes contested.

Perhaps most concerning is a precedent that doesn’t come with an off switch – once this door opens, it rarely closes.

The bottom line

So was this only about drugs? Drugs are the headline, but the deeper story is power, resources, regional control and the collapsing respect for international rules when it becomes inconvenient.

This operation doesn’t just change Venezuela. It changes what the world believes is allowed.

If the global community now accepts “force first, justification later”, we all pay the price later – through instability, distrust and a more dangerous world.

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