Democracy Now! Law Prof. David Cole on the Illegality of U.S. Attack on Venezuela

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Transcript: https://www.democracynow.org/2026/1/5/maduro_abduction_is_illegal_david_cole

The Trump administration did not seek congressional authorization prior to attacking Venezuela, as is required by the Constitution. It also violated “probably the first principle of international law … that countries have to respect their neighbors, and they can’t simply invade a neighbor or any other sovereign nation because they don’t like the way they are running things there,” says law professor David Cole. The attack was clearly not a law enforcement operation, as the administration has claimed, but an “imperialist intervention,” says Cole, who notes President Trump’s comments on extracting oil from the region.

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