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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Hugo Lowell in Washington

DoJ deemed it ‘unnecessary’ to conclude whether seizing Maduro violated international law, memo reveals

a man in a mustache with a brown jacket surrounded by men in uniforms
Nicolás Maduro's initial appearance to face US federal charges, in New York, New York on 5 January 2026. Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters

The Trump administration received approval from the justice department to use the military to seize Nicolás Maduro even as it declined to address whether the operation would violate international law, according to its legal memo released on Tuesday.

The dark-of-night raid to capture Venezuela’s president has raised a host of legal issues concerning the US president’s power to start an armed conflict without congressional approval and possible breaches of international law.

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