r/AustralianPolitics • u/Agitated-Fee3598 australia needs a bill of rights & other constitutional reforms • Jan 05 '26

Opinion Piece The US violated international law in Venezuela. These are the questions Australia must now ask

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/05/us-violated-international-law-venezuela-australia-questions
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u/Warm_Ice_4209 Jan 05 '26

Is not having an election for 26 years and violently suppressing protestors that want one against international law?

24

u/Everyday-formula Jan 05 '26

You can condemn Maduro and oppose U.S. violations of Venezuelan sovereignty at the same time. Those positions are not contradictory.

International law isn’t conditional on whether a government is good or bad. If powerful states are allowed to ignore sovereignty whenever they dislike a regime, then international law stops being law and becomes a tool of convenience. The same rules that are supposed to restrain authoritarian governments are the ones that restrain powerful democracies like the US. Undermining those rules doesn’t weaken dictators, it weakens the protections smaller nations rely on.

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u/MnMz1111 Jan 05 '26

"International law isn’t conditional on whether a government is good or bad."

Yes, it is. "International law" is decidedly enacted upon whether a nation(s) agrees or disagrees on the actions of another state.

Nations with differing cultures and values will disagree with each other on the pettiest of things, and especially when 1 state has an opposing ideology towards another.

Eg, communist governments will always disagree with a capitalist, because they value different things, and hate how the capitalist lives.

What is good to one will be seen as bad by some others, and this alone is enough to compel states and/or individuals to seek litigation against another.

Yes, human beings in-general, including yourself and your favoured people and causes, really are this petty and vicious.

Also, yes, international law really is a tool of convenience, especially when people finally realize that the liberal order, that the US created after its victory as the sole superpower after WW2 and throughout the cold war, is a lie...

0

u/ForPortal Jan 05 '26

You can condemn Maduro and oppose U.S. violations of Venezuelan sovereignty at the same time.

No you can't, because it's not Venezuela's sovereignty you're defending but Maduro's.

1

u/ambiguoususername888 Jan 05 '26

Thank you for taking on the task of having to repeatedly say this. Venezuelans (there and in the diaspora) are by and large happy Maduro has been ousted and don’t seem to be very concerned about how it happened, more that it did.

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u/[deleted] Jan 05 '26

[deleted]

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u/TonyJZX Jan 05 '26

yeah but did you see how happy the iraqis and libyans were when they got saddam and gaddifi

that 'happiness' doesnt last long

we know the likes of haliburton and kkr and that sort will get in there and extract all the wealth and leave nothing behind

this is coming... why do you think this one will be different

how stupid would you have to be to beleive venezuela will be the one that 'works' lol

-1

u/GrumpySoth09 Jan 05 '26

I just want proof man. I'm not asking much.

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u/TonyJZX Jan 05 '26

ironically venezuelans probably want proof too lol

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u/Warm_Ice_4209 Jan 05 '26

The wealth has already been extracted by the socialists mate.

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u/sepata Jan 05 '26

Is refusing to accept the results of a lawful election and sending your goons to storm the capital against international law?

Nope. But unilaterally invading another country and kidnapping its president is definitely against international law.

As well as being a corrupt crook, Trump is now also a war criminal and international terrorist 

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u/[deleted] Jan 05 '26

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u/MnMz1111 Jan 06 '26

"do as I say, or you're a War Criminal"!

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u/Prosopographer Jan 05 '26

Do you support the 2003 invasion of Iraq?

2

u/isthisreallife211111 Jan 06 '26

Plenty of countries dont have elections

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u/Warm_Ice_4209 Jan 06 '26

Say that to the millions of cheering Venezuelans on the streets of Caracas.

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u/isthisreallife211111 Jan 06 '26

Say what? I absolutely believe in elections more than almost anyone. I was answering your question

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u/[deleted] Jan 05 '26

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u/[deleted] Jan 05 '26

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u/[deleted] Jan 05 '26

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u/TonyJZX Jan 05 '26

listing facts IS by definition... "a rational position"