Crime of Aggression

Throughout human history, the arc of domination has rarely bent toward justice—unless justice served the interests of the powerful. From the Assyrian Empire’s brutal vassalage systems to European colonial extraction, from the transatlantic slave trade to Cold War proxy interventions, dominant social groups, kingdoms, tribes, and nation-states have consistently leveraged their strength not to uphold law, but to reshape it in their image. The principle often unspoken but ever-present is lex fortioris—the law of the stronger. In this doctrine, might does not merely make right; it rewrites the rules entirely, rendering legality a flexible tool of control rather than a shield for the vulnerable. The recent U.S.-led military operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stands as a stark, modern manifestation of this ancient practice—where a superpower, cloaked in the language of justice, violates international law with impunity, exposing the hollowness of a global order that binds only those without the means to resist. The abduction of President Maduro on January 3, 2026—conducted by U.S. military forces without Venezuelan consent, UN authorization, or Congressional approval—was not a law enforcement operation. It was an act of international aggression disguised as judicial accountability. Over 150 aircraft descended upon Caracas. Venezuelan military installations were bombed. The sitting head of state was seized from sovereign territory and flown to the United States to face charges of “narco-terrorism” in a federal courtroom. Simultaneously, U.S. officials declared that Venezuela’s vast oil reserves would now be “made available” to American companies, and that Washington would effectively oversee […]