September 23, 2026, 3:02 am
AIIA ACT invites you to join us for a presentation by Dr Donald R. Rothwell, Professor of International Law at the ANU College of Law and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law (FAAL).
The 3 January 2026 ‘snatch and grab’ military operation conducted by the US against the Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, was characterised as a law-enforcement operation.
It was the culmination of months of US threats against the Maduro regime including the use of force against so-called ‘narco-terrorist’ vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean, and a US naval blockade and interdiction campaign against tankers carrying oil from Venezuela. Notwithstanding the grounds for this conduct under US law, that conduct and what occurred on 3 January represented serious violations of international law. US conduct in Venezuela will be assessed through an international law lens against the backdrop of the November 2025 US National Security Strategy and its emphasis on the Western Hemisphere.
Consideration will also be given to the wider actions of the Trump Administration during 2026 and its implications for international law, including withdrawal from UN and associated international institutions, the Gaza ‘Board of Peace’, and the threatened use of force against Iran and Greenland.
Content Creator – Australian Institute of International Affairs
