Trump's Actions are Illegal
Simon Tisdall, writing an opinion piece in The Guardian on Sat 3 Jan 2026 at 14.40 GMT, wrote:
"Trump’s coup is of great concern to Britain, the EU and western democracies. They should, and must, unequivocally condemn it. It directly challenges the rules and principles of the international order they hold dear. The US has once again ignored the UN and traditional methods of addressing inter-state grievances. And it is acting with apparently scant regard or thought for what happens next in Venezuela."
I agree. I hope the British Government is not conspicuously slow or ambiguous in condemning this departure from the rules and principles that we, together with other civilised countries, have developed over the last few centuries.
Read the Charter of the United Nations [Ref.1].
Article 2 paragraph 3. All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
Article 2 paragraph 4. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
Article 6. A Member of the United Nations which has persistently violated the Principles contained in the present Charter may be expelled from the Organization by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
Article 92. The International Court of Justice shall be the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It shall function in accordance with the annexed Statute, which is based upon the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice and forms an integral part of the present Charter.
Has the United States de facto opted out of these organisations?
Trump may say: "The United Nations is for losers. Those rules do not apply to the United States."
The answer has to be that they leave the Club, the consortium of civilised nations. Nobody can force the US; all we can do is isolate them, ignore them.
References:
[1] https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/full-text
