How U.S.–Venezuela crisis undermines rules-based order

As the crisis between America and Venezuela unfolds, legal scholars, diplomats and policy experts warn that the incident exposes the fragility of the rules-based international order and highlights the growing vulnerability of weaker states in a global system increasingly shaped by power rather than law. NGOZI EGENUKA examines the legal, diplomatic and geopolitical implications of the standoff, with particular attention to its consequences for Africa and the wider Global South.

Recent developments in American–Venezuela relations have reignited global concern following Washington’s military operation in Caracas that led to the arrest of Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. The action, which the U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged resulted in the deaths of several Cuban nationals, has sharply escalated diplomatic tensions and reopened long-standing debates over sovereignty, intervention and the use of force in international relations.

At the forefront of raising these concerns is the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Prof Eghosa Osaghae, who described the developments as deeply unsettling, noting that they have sent shockwaves across the international system. According to him, events that appear geographically distant often have direct and troubling implicatio