U.S. releases legal memo justifying capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro

The Trump administration has released a previously classified legal opinion on Tuesday, setting out its justification for the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and U.S. military operations carried out inside Venezuela.

The document, issued by the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), details the administration’s legal reasoning amid growing domestic and international criticism of the operation.

The opinion argues that the U.S. president acted within his constitutional authority by authorising military strikes and the detention of Maduro, and that the action did not amount to war in a constitutional sense.

According to the memo, the operation "did not rise to the level of war", meaning prior authorisation from Congress was not required.

The OLC characterises the operation as a law-enforcement action, arguing that Maduro was subject to criminal charges in the U.S., including drug-trafficking offences.

On that basis, the use of military force is described as incidental to a law-enforcement objective rather than an armed conflict between states.

The memo also addresses international law concerns. Under the United Nations Charter, the use of force against another state is generally prohibited unless authorised by the UN Security Council or justified as self-defence.

Venezuela’s government has condemned the U.S. action as a violation of its sovereignty.

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• World reacts as U.S. strikes Venezuela and Maduro is captured

The administration’s reliance on domestic law-enforcement principles has drawn scrutiny from legal analysts. Some have noted that U.S. court precedents allowing trials to proceed after arrests abroad do not necessarily legitimise the manner in which a suspect is captured, particularly when military force is used.

The Justice Department said the release of the memo was intended to promote transparency and clarify the legal basis for the administration’s decisions.

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