Despite International Law Which Would Make It Illegal, Pompeo Claims US Attack on Venezuela "Would B
Published on
Sunday, May 05, 2019
by Common Dreams
Despite International Law Which Would Make It Illegal, Pompeo Claims US Attack on Venezuela "Would Be Lawful"
"Attacking [Venezuela] for any reason," warned one legal expert, "would violate the most fundamental of all international law."
by Jon Queally, staff writer
After U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday morning that President Donald Trump has a "full range of options" when it comes to possible next moves against Venezuela, anti-war critics are wondering what the Democrats in Congress are prepared to do in order to curtail the administration's ongoing threat of using military force to overthrow the government of President Nicolas Maduro – an effort international legal experts say would be a violation of international law.
"We have a full range of options that we're preparing for," Pompeo said on ABC's "This Week."
Asked if the president believed he had the authority to attack Venezuela without the expressed approval of Congress, Pompeo said, "I don't want to speak to that," but added that the President Trump has "his full range of Article 2 authorities"—referring to the section of the Constitution that grants the president specific (yet not unlimited) powers—"and I'm very confident that any action we took in Venezuela would be lawful."
. . .
The White House has been adamant that a military option remains on the table for Venezuela. Earlier this week—as the latest push to topple Maduro from within failed—Pompeo, as Common Dreams reported, said Trump was prepared to use military force "if that's what's required."
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https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/05/05/despite-international-law-which-would-make-it-illegal-pompeo-claims-us-attack