The US has launched a military attack on Venezuela, abducting President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who are facing narco-terrorism charges in a New York federal court. Eighty Venezuelan and Cuban citizens were killed by US gunfire and airstrikes.
President Donald Trump described the attack as "successful" and "perfectly executed". However, many legal experts and lawmakers have called the attack illegal under both international law and the US Constitution.
The attack is part of what some are calling the Trump administration's "Donroe Doctrine", a refashioning of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine that has been used to justify US occupations across Latin America throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The doctrine claims that the US has a right to intervene in sovereign nations to protect American interests.
Trump has threatened further military action against Venezuela, as well as other sovereign nations, including Cuba and Colombia. He has also hinted at intervention in Mexico and renewed annexation aspirations in Greenland.
The attack on Venezuela was followed by Trump's threats of military action against Iran, with which the US is currently engaged in a standoff over nuclear capabilities. The Iranian government has responded to these threats by cracking down on peaceful protests, killing dozens of protesters in recent days.
Despite the controversy surrounding the attack on Venezuela and Trump's subsequent threats, many politicians are still covering his actions as "politics as usual", with flattering headlines describing him as "unconventional" or "aggressively flexing power".
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments and billionaires around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
The US attack on Venezuela is a symptom of a larger problem - a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government's full powers to dismantle the free press, corporate news outlets becoming accessories in his project to create a post-truth America, and right-wing billionaires buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
That's why we need your help. Will you support our independent journalism by becoming a member of The Intercept?
President Donald Trump described the attack as "successful" and "perfectly executed". However, many legal experts and lawmakers have called the attack illegal under both international law and the US Constitution.
The attack is part of what some are calling the Trump administration's "Donroe Doctrine", a refashioning of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine that has been used to justify US occupations across Latin America throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The doctrine claims that the US has a right to intervene in sovereign nations to protect American interests.
Trump has threatened further military action against Venezuela, as well as other sovereign nations, including Cuba and Colombia. He has also hinted at intervention in Mexico and renewed annexation aspirations in Greenland.
The attack on Venezuela was followed by Trump's threats of military action against Iran, with which the US is currently engaged in a standoff over nuclear capabilities. The Iranian government has responded to these threats by cracking down on peaceful protests, killing dozens of protesters in recent days.
Despite the controversy surrounding the attack on Venezuela and Trump's subsequent threats, many politicians are still covering his actions as "politics as usual", with flattering headlines describing him as "unconventional" or "aggressively flexing power".
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments and billionaires around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
The US attack on Venezuela is a symptom of a larger problem - a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government's full powers to dismantle the free press, corporate news outlets becoming accessories in his project to create a post-truth America, and right-wing billionaires buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
That's why we need your help. Will you support our independent journalism by becoming a member of The Intercept?
. Like, who else can say they've managed to get 80 people killed in an airstrike and still be called "successful" 
? Trump's got some serious nerve, even if it's just because he wants to rebrand the Monroe Doctrine as a "Donroe Doctrine" 
. Newsflash: just because you've been doing the same old thing for centuries doesn't mean it's still cool, dude. And honestly, what's next? Intervention in Greenland? Is that going to be the new thing? 
The world is already watching with bated breath... or should I say, with a healthy dose of skepticism and outrage 
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it sounds like just another example of us imperialism 
The Intercept is doing us all a favor by holding him accountable. We need to support independent journalism now more than ever! 
what kind of president abducts ppl from another country and kills innocent citizens just cuz they dont agree with him 
meanwhile he says its all part of his "doctrine" like whats wrong with that man 
news organizations are already saying its a form of imperialism and i gotta agree the US has been meddling in latin america for way too long this attack on venezuela is just the latest example of trumps ego getting in the way of good governance 
gotta stand w/ the intercept on this 1 
nbcnews is saying its part of some kinda "donroe doctrine" which sounds super suspicious 
u know im totally on the side of nicolas maduro & venezuela rn 
. This brazen act of aggression, which has resulted in the deaths of dozens of innocent civilians, can only be justified as a gross overreach of executive power. The implications of this action are far-reaching and raise serious questions about the United States' commitment to democracy and the rule of law 
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This whole thing smells like a setup to me... think about it, Trump's got a history of using "successful" and "perfectly executed" to describe his own messes, and now he's doing it again. And what's really going on in that New York court? Is Maduro being framed? I'm not buying the narco-terrorism charges, seems like a convenient excuse for Trump to take out Maduro and make an example of Venezuela. And let's not forget about Iran... does this attack on Venezuela have something to do with the nuclear standoff? The more I think about it, the more I believe there's more to this than meets the eye