US raid in Venezuela signals deterrence to adversaries on three fronts, experts say
The U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has ignited sharp debate in Washington and abroad over whether the move undermines international norms — or delivers a deliberate deterrent...
By Fox News · Fox News
The U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has ignited sharp debate in Washington and abroad over whether the move undermines international norms — or delivers a deliberate deterrent message to rivals like China and Russia. Critics argue that seizing the leader of a sovereign nation risks setting a dangerous precedent — one adversaries could cite to justify their own military actions beyond their borders. "My main concern now is that Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan," Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said in a statement. "What will we say now if Putin tries to capture Zelenskyy?" Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., asked. Others counter that such norms have never constrained Moscow or Beijing, and that deterrence is shaped less by legal arguments than by demonstrations of power, speed and capability. TOPPLING MADURO WAS EASY — GOVERNING VENEZUELA COULD TRAP US FOR YEARS "I don’t think Putin or Xi ever doubted that power overrides sovereignty," said Pedro Garmendia, a Washington-based geopolitical risk analyst. "What we’ve seen consistently from China and Russia is that they use rhetoric around international law when it suits them and ignore it when it doesn’t." For U.S. adversaries, the most jarring signal may not be diplomatic fallout but the stark demonstration of American lethality. The operation resulted in the deaths of dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban security personnel, according to Venezuelan and Cuban authorities, as U.S. forces pushed through layers of armed resistance protecting Maduro. Cuban officials acknowledged the loss of multiple military and intelligence personnel deployed in Venezuela, while Venezuelan authorities confirmed heavy casualties among elite security units. Independent estimates place the total death toll — security forces and civilians combined — at several dozen. President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged the nature of the mission,…