The images emerging from Caracas are striking: a dictator who oppressed millions for years, finally removed from power. Few will shed tears for Nicolás Maduro, whose ruthless regime plunged Venezuela into a humanitarian catastrophe whilst clinging to power through electoral fraud and violent repression.
Yet the manner of his departure — a unilateral American military incursion — should alarm anyone who values international law and the principles upon which global peace depends.
The facts are clear. Maduro lost the presidential election of 28 July 2024.
The European Parliament recognised González Urrutia as Venezuela's legitimate president.
Maduro's refusal to acknowledge defeat, his regime's persecution of democratic opposition, and his systematic violation of human rights marked him as an illegitimate dictator whom the European Union rightly refused to recognise.
But removing a dictator through military force, however tempting the simplicity of that solution might appear, violates the foundational principles of international order.
The United States' military intervention in Venezuela contravenes the UN charter, which prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. This is not mere procedural nicety — it is the bedrock upon which peaceful coexistence between nations rests.
In a world where powerful nations increasingly act unilaterally, disregarding international law when convenient, we risk returning to an era where might makes right.
Europe, which has benefited immeasurably from the rules-based international order established after the Second World War, cannot remain silent when those rules are breached — even when the immediate outcome appears superficially positive.
History offers sobering lessons about military interventions aimed at establishing or restoring democracy.
From Iraq to Libya, Afghanistan to countless other examples, we have witnessed how regime change imposed by external military force rarely produces lasting democratic governance. Instead, such interventions often trigger prolonged instability and leave civilian populations paying the price for years afterwards.
Democracy cannot be delivered on the tip of a bayonet; citizens themselves must build it.
This is not a society requiring foreign military intervention to achieve democracy — it is a society that has already chosen democracy and deserves international support for that choice
Venezuela's democratic opposition has repeatedly demonstrated its strength, resilience, and commitment to peaceful transition.
Millions of Venezuelans voted courageously despite intimidation. Civil society organisations documented electoral fraud at great personal risk.
This is not a society requiring foreign military intervention to achieve democracy — it is a society that has already chosen democracy and deserves international support for that choice.
The Venezuelan people themselves must decide their country's future through free and fair elections, with democratic guarantees and transparent processes.
External powers can support this process through diplomatic pressure, humanitarian assistance, and recognition of legitimate democratic institutions. What they cannot do — what international law expressly forbids — is impose their preferred outcome through military force.
The United States should learn from its own failed interventions. Decades of military action to install or restore democracy have yielded meagre results and immense suffering.
The architects of such interventions consistently underestimate the complexity of building democratic institutions, the unpredictability of post-conflict situations, and the resentment generated by foreign occupation — however benevolent its stated intentions.
The European Union now faces a critical test.
We must condemn Maduro's dictatorship whilst equally firmly rejecting the violation of international law that removed him.
These positions flow from the same commitment to rules-based order and democratic values.
This American intervention legitimises future incursions by other powers: Russia or China will invoke national security to justify territorial annexation, citing Washington's precedent. Europe cannot champion international law selectively whilst remaining silent when powerful allies breach it.
This dilemma is not merely theoretical.
It is already unfolding at Europe’s strategic periphery — in the Arctic.
“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” Donald Trump told reporters.
Trump’s words should be taken seriously. Greenland has been his target many times before, illustrating how openly power politics are once again shaping international relations, even among allies.
Without political unity and strategic capacity, Europe remains vulnerable to external pressure, whether military, economic or informational.
The EU must use its full diplomatic, economic, and political influence to support Venezuela's return to democratic governance — governance chosen by Venezuelans themselves, not imposed by foreign powers.
This means recognising González Urrutia's electoral victory, supporting Venezuelan civil society, providing humanitarian assistance, and working through multilateral institutions to ensure transparent, fair processes for Venezuela's political transition.
However, first and foremost, Europe must be thoroughly reformed and define a clear and united course of action: by establishing a real European executive with an EU president and a European foreign affairs minister; by abandoning the unanimity rule that paralyses decisive action; by building a strong European defence and technology industry; through structural investment in our own military capabilities and strategic autonomy; and by deepening cooperation into a genuine European defence pillar, ultimately, a European army.
Greenland, like Ukraine and Venezuela, exposes the same underlying truth: when Europe fails to act as a power, others will act for it or over it.
Few will mourn Maduro's departure from power. Yet Europe must stand firm in defence of the principles that have secured our peace and prosperity.
Venezuela deserves democracy, justice, and the rule of law — not just regime change imposed by military force. Only by respecting international law can we build a world where democracy truly flourishes.
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Hilde Vautmans (Renew Europe)
Hilde Vautmans (Renew Europe)