War in the waters

 A few days ago, US forces boarded and seized a tanker in Caribbean waters carrying Venezuelan oil. President Donald Trump with obvious satisfaction announced this extraordinary action. He also told reporters that the tanker was the largest ever seized and that the US would keep the oil it was carrying. According to a prominent US newspaper a US judge, had in an earlier order, allowed the seizure of this tanker because of its involvement in carrying sanctioned Iranian oil. On this occasion it was carrying Venezuelan oil but it is likely that the court order would hold because it pertained to the seizing the tanker and not the origin of the cargo it was carrying.

While the seizure’s legal aspects of the action are important because it occurred in international waters, far more significant are its diplomatic and political connotations. The US step is undoubtedly part of the pressure being mounted by the Trump administration against the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro became President in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chavez. However, the US believes he manipulated the 2018 Presidential election, and did not recognize him as the legitimate President when he assumed office in 2019. That position continues till date even though a Presidential election was held in Venezuela in 2024 too. Maduro is widely regarded as being responsible for human rights violations but so are leaders of many countries with whom Trump maintains excellent ties.

Since assuming office in January Trump has shown a determination to get Maduro to leave office. Over the past few months, he has increased pressure on Maduro by augmenting US naval and land forces off the Venezuelan coast. This is Trump’s way of showing that he is willing to use force to ensure that Maduro goes. From the beginning of September, US naval forces, on Trump’s orders, have been blowing up Venezuelan boats in Caribbean waters. Till now at least 26 boats have been destroyed through fire directed at them by US vessels. The US claims that these boats were ferrying narcotics to the US and hence it had the right to take action against them in international waters. Around 80 persons have been killed by US forces in these operations.

In at least one case there is evidence that survivors of a first US attack against a boat were killed in a follow up action. This act has become controversial in the US itself. There is little doubt that it was contrary to the norms of the seas. Normally, survivors of a destroyed vessel are supposed to be rescued. They can be produced to face the law if they were involved in an illegal act. But killing them in this way is nothing short of extrajudicial execution. Besides, it is contrary to the principles of civilized conduct. Even in wars enemy sailors are rescued if their ship is destroyed; they become prisoners of war (POWs). They are not killed by professional navies which follow the rules of war.

Conflict, violence and war between countries have occurred through history. But humankind has always attempted that these should take place according to some norms so that even amidst the killing the dignity of human beings is preserved. These norms are also meant to ensure that civilians who are not engaged in conflict are not deliberately targeted. Indeed, over the past five decades there have been concerted moves to move towards the use of precision weapons by professional forces so that civilian populations do not become collateral damage though it continues to occur.to the extent possible. US operations in Afghanistan, despite all the array of precision weapons its forces possessed and the vast network of its intelligence, sometimes bombed marriage parties and other innocent gatherings. Naturally, this caused the greatest resentment in the population and led to the growth of anti-US sentiment, a cause for the return of the Taliban.

It would seem that under Trump the US is turning its back to the very norms it had insisted should be observed by all nations. These relate to the prevention of collateral damage, the sanctity of human life even in conflict, including of those who are accused of criminal activities.

In a larger sense, Trump’s actions in destroying boats in the Caribbean Sea on the ground that they were being used to carry narcotics is part of the systematic undoing of the values and systems that the US has itself sought to put in place after the Second World War. it is noteworthy that Trump’s America is no longer concerned about asserting that it wants to promote a rules-based world order in all areas of inter-state interaction. It is loudly proclaiming that it is pursuing an America First policy. In a particular area if the rules-based principles are in conformity with US interests then the Trump administration emphatically focuses on it. Its silence on the rules-based order is eloquent wherever global rules impose restrictions on US actions.

It is not entirely clear how the Venezuela situation will unfold. On his part, Maduro is not showing any desire to give in to US dictation. Hence, will Trump, who is continuously claiming that he does not wish the US to wage war and indeed is taking credit for stopping eight wars, take military action against Venezuela? Does he expect that it would lead the country’s elites and population to force the Maduro government and its supporters to leave so that a new US ushered in system can come in? The coming weeks are going to be crucial.