Arrest Maduro, Trump is judged to aggravate global tensions

JAKARTA - GREAT Institute strongly condemns the actions of US President Donald Trump who ordered a military operation to arrest the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro. This unilateral step is considered to violate international law and potentially create a dangerous precedent in inter-state relations.

GREAT Institute Geopolitical Director, Teguh Santosa, emphasized that Trump's actions increased global tensions and widened international political instability. According to him, the use of cross-country military force without a valid legal mechanism will only encourage the practice of mutual hostage-taking between superpowers.

"It is appropriate for all world leaders, including President Prabowo Subianto, to strongly condemn Trump's actions that violate international law," Teguh said in a written statement received by the editorial staff in Jakarta, Monday, January 5.

Teguh also urged the United Nations to be firm against the Trump administration by imposing sanctions and ordering the release of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were said to have been kidnapped in a US military operation on Saturday morning, January 3, 2026.

He assessed that the forced arrest was a clear violation of Article 2 paragraph 4 of the UN Charter which prohibits the use of force in international relations, except for self-defense or under the mandate of the UN Security Council. "This is a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty. If left unchecked, other countries could be the next victims," he said.

In his statement, Teguh said Maduro's kidnapping operation involved more than 150 military aircraft and thousands of personnel from various US military branches, including the Delta Force special forces and FBI units. The operation was also accompanied by precision attacks on a number of strategic Venezuelan targets, including air defense systems, to secure extraction routes.

In addition, the operation, code-named Absolute Resolve, also involved cyber warfare tactics to cripple defense and communications systems, as well as CIA intelligence support that is said to have monitored Maduro's activities for months before the operation was carried out.

Teguh emphasized that the accusation of Maduro and his wife's involvement in the narco-terrorism network cannot be used as a basis for justification for military aggression. "The US government should pursue international legal mechanisms and the principle of multilateralism," he said.

He also reminded that the US's accusations against Maduro as the leader of a drug cartel were first made in 2020, during the first term of the Trump administration. According to Teguh, behind the accusations there should be economic motives, especially the interests of controlling Venezuela's oil reserves, which are one of the largest in the world.

"Since the 1999 Bolivarian Revolution, Venezuela has nationalized the assets of US oil companies. This fact cannot be separated from the context of the military operations that are taking place today," he concluded.