"US military action in Venezuela would violate international law, expert says," by Shannon Roddel, Notre Dame News, Feb. 20, 2019
"President Donald Trump on Monday (Feb. 19) stopped short of expressly threatening military action in Venezuela when he urged the country to remove its disputed socialist president, Nicolás Maduro, and to allow humanitarian aid to enter the country.
Trump condemned socialism and voiced strong support for the self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaidó, but Mary Ellen O’Connell, Notre Dame Law School professor and renowned expert on international law, raised concerns about Trump’s statement: “We seek a peaceful transition of power, but all options are open.” She says if that means attacking, it would be in clear violation of international law.
“President Trump has invoked the standard code for using military force against Venezuela,” O’Connell says. “Attacking for any reason, however, would violate the most fundamental of all international law — the prohibition on the use of force. International law permits force in response to an armed attack in self-defense, but not for regime change, to secure oil or even to distribute food.”" (Read full article here).
