THE world is witnessing a dangerous revival of regime-change politics. For quite a while, US President Donald Trump had been issuing blunt statements regarding the Venezuelan leadership, framing its policies and even existence as a threat to regional stability. Last weekend, he made good on his implied threats by sending US forces into the Latin American nation to forcibly bring its president to the US.

Nicolás Maduro has since been paraded on US streets, on his way to face US justice: the head of a sovereign nation reduced to a war trophy for the American president. It is an extraordinary development that cannot be viewed merely through the lens of South American politics. Rather, it represents the unapologetic revival of regime-change tactics by a major global power, and raises the question: what remains of the so-called ‘rules-based order’ when the sovereignty of nations has been reduced to a conditional privilege?

The US has a long history of intervention in South America, often driven by the protection of corporate interests rather than any genuine commitment to democratic ideals. During the Cold War era, it used the fear of communism to justify supporting authoritarian regimes that had aligned themselves with US economic priorities.

The rhetoric has shifted since then. Today, in the US leadership’s discourse around Venezuela and its neighbouring states, there is reduced emphasis on ideology and an increased focus on resources, specifically oil and minerals. Regime change has thus been turned into a tool for appropriation and exploitation.

There seems to be no shame in it either. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently declared, “I do not care what the UN says. The UN does not know what they’re talking about.” He had been challenged on the repeated claim that Venezuela was involved in the drug trade. In short, the US will now act as judge, jury and executioner.

The silence of the international community has been equally disconcerting. There has been a very muted or fragmented response from the UN and major powers that claim to defend multilateralism. Some have even gone so far as to endorse the overthrow of the Maduro government. Others have issued mealy-mouthed condemnations and meek appeals to adhere to the UN Charter.

This lack of pushback contrasts sharply with the swift condemnations seen from the same nations in other geopolitical contexts, where the aggressor is not the US or one of its allies. This selective outrage will further erode the credibility and moral authority of the global order. The sovereignty of every nation must be respected, regardless of which political system they employ. If this simple principle cannot be honoured in practice, the international order cannot survive long.

Interventions like the one in Venezuela cannot be countenanced. The world must speak up.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2026