CHINA JUST DEMANDED AMERICA RELEASE MADURO AND THE SOVEREIGNTY ARGUMENT IS GETTING LOUDER
Beijing has issued a formal demand to Washington. Release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro immediately and stop violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries.
America seized Maduro and brought him to the United States for prosecution. China is calling that an illegal violation of Venezuelan sovereignty.
The argument China is making is legally straightforward. A sitting head of state was taken from his country by a foreign power without the consent of his government. Whatever Maduro’s crimes, the process by which he was removed from Venezuela violates the principles of national sovereignty that the United Nations Charter is built on.
But here is the uncomfortable comparison nobody in Washington wants to make publicly.
When Iran detained American citizens it was called hostage-taking. When America took Maduro from Venezuela it was called justice. When the ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, America sanctions the judges. When America wants someone prosecuted, it sends agents to collect them.
China’s demand is not just about Maduro. It is about establishing a principle. If America can seize any foreign leader it decides is criminal, then the sovereignty of every country smaller than America is conditional on Washington’s approval
China and Russia have been making this argument consistently. The SCO summit in Bishkek this week is full of leaders who share this concern even if they do not all say so publicly.
Venezuela is also significant economically. It sits on the world’s largest proven oil reserves. America’s relationship with Venezuelan oil has always been more complicated than the democracy narrative suggests.
China is now defending Maduro publicly. That is a statement about the principle not just the man.
Is America’s treatment of Maduro justice or a precedent that should concern every country
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