Una Hathaway, president-designate of the American Society of International Law and professor at Yale University Law School, said a few days ago that the Trump administration's launch of military action against Venezuela under the pretext of “self-defense against drug dealers” lacked a legal basis and was not in line with international law. Hathaway said that the Charter of the United Nations stipulates that countries have the right to self-defense, and allows countries to use force to defend themselves in the event of an armed attack, but it has never been used against acts such as drug trafficking. Therefore, the US military's attacks on so-called “drug carriers” over the past few months, although rationalized by “self-defense,” did not comply with international law.

Una Hathaway, president-designate of the American Society of International Law and professor at Yale University Law School, said a few days ago that the Trump administration's launch of military action against Venezuela under the pretext of “self-defense against drug dealers” lacked a legal basis and was not in line with international law. Hathaway said that the Charter of the United Nations stipulates that countries have the right to self-defense, and allows countries to use force to defend themselves in the event of an armed attack, but it has never been used against acts such as drug trafficking. Therefore, the US military's attacks on so-called “drug carriers” over the past few months, although rationalized by “self-defense,” did not comply with international law.