By Dr. Sabir Abu Mariam
Secretary General, Palestine Foundation Pakistan
(Palestine Foundation Information Center) Since the assumption of power by US President Donald Trump, the world has been confronted with a grave and unprecedented danger. Trump’s conduct has consistently pushed the world toward chaos and promoted global insecurity. He appears to be deliberately recreating the political environment that existed before and after the Second World War, in order to once again entangle the world in the grip of American domination. This behavior is clear evidence that the system of American monopoly and global hegemony has reached the brink of collapse. In an attempt to preserve it, Trump has gambled with global peace, placing the entire world at risk.
As a result, the world is being driven toward a lawless order resembling a jungle, where the only rule is that might makes right, where those who possess power subdue weaker nations and secure their interests through fair or foul means. This is precisely what occurred at the onset of the Second World War and in its aftermath. Today, Trump’s aggressive actions have once again pushed the world back by nearly a century.
Once again, the world is facing the bitter reality that whenever the United States perceives an independent, sovereign, and resistant state as an obstacle to its interests, it does not hesitate to violate international law, the United Nations Charter, and fundamental human rights. The kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is a fresh and shameful example of this American imperial mindset, deserving of the strongest condemnation.
Such action against the elected president of a sovereign country is not only an attack on Venezuela’s sovereignty but also a dangerous precedent for the entire international system. It clearly demonstrates that the United States considers itself above international law and seeks to impose its decisions on the world through sheer force.
This is not the first instance of kidnapping, terrorism, and conspiracy by the US government. In 1989, the United States abducted Panama’s General Manuel Noriega through a military operation, tried him in a Miami court, and sentenced him. Now, once again, Nicolás Maduro has been abducted from Venezuela and is being tried in a New York court, where he too is expected to be sentenced. Although New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has strongly opposed and condemned Trump’s action, such condemnation and protest are unlikely to save Maduro.
The abduction of President Nicolás Maduro is not an isolated incident; rather, it is a continuation of the same aggressive American policy under which countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Iran, Cuba, and Palestine have been targeted. Recently, the US president has once again adopted a confrontational stance against Iran. It has even been stated that if a single civilian is killed during protests in Iran, the United States will attack Iran. Does the US truly care so deeply about Iranian civilians? Does Trump show the same concern for American citizens, millions of whom sleep on the streets and are deprived of food, healthcare, and basic necessities? Yet Trump has never adopted such aggressive policies to improve their lives.
On the other hand, in Palestine, the occupying Israeli regime under Netanyahu has killed thousands of Palestinians, yet Trump remained silent. Now he claims that the US will not tolerate even one death during protests in Iran. This double standard explains why Trump interferes in the internal affairs of countries across the world rather than focusing on America’s own crises. Those nations remaining silent today over US aggression and interference in Iran’s internal matters may soon face even worse consequences themselves.
The history of the US government, indeed, its darkest history, reveals a consistent pattern of overthrowing governments in sovereign countries through military invasions, economic sanctions, regime-change conspiracies, and the kidnapping and assassination of leaders. When the US fails to subjugate a country, it justifies intervention in the name of democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression, while its true objective remains control over resources and political dominance. Because Venezuela insists on an independent policy and national control over its natural resources, it has become a target of American hostility.
Today, Trump openly declares that American companies will sell Venezuelan oil. This is nothing less than open terrorism against a sovereign state.
The most tragic aspect of Nicolás Maduro’s abduction is the silence of the international community, particularly those countries that portray themselves as self-appointed champions of human rights. Even the UN Secretary-General issued a weak and cowardly condemnation without mentioning the United States or Trump by name. This silence amounts to indirect support for American aggression. Had the same action been taken by a non-Western power, global media would have erupted in outrage. Why, then, does the US enjoy a separate standard?
The credibility of the United Nations and international institutions is severely undermined when they remain silent on the crimes of powerful states while swiftly issuing verdicts against weaker nations. This conduct proves that the rule of law has effectively ceased to exist in today’s world, replaced by the law of the jungle, where only the strong survive. Humanity is being pushed toward an environment even more dangerous than that which preceded the Second World War.
In conclusion, history bears witness that nations which stood firm despite American pressure, sanctions, and aggression ultimately emerged victorious. The abduction of Nicolás Maduro is a failed attempt to crush Venezuela’s politics of resistance. It exposes the helplessness of the US government. When dialogue and reason fail, intimidation and coercion take their place. This behavior reflects defeat, not strength. The kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro will not be remembered as an American success but as a humiliating failure, a symbol of fear and weakness rather than power.
It is imperative for free and self-respecting nations of the world to openly condemn this American action, express solidarity with the people of Venezuela, and adopt a collective stance to halt this dangerous trend. The abduction of Nicolás Maduro is not an attack on one individual alone; it is an assault on an ideology, a sovereign state, and international law itself.
The United States must be made to realize that the world is no longer unipolar, and global leadership cannot be achieved through aggression, kidnapping, and coercion. If voices are not raised against this act today, tomorrow it may be another country and another leader.
