‘I don’t give a sh- what you call it’ – Vice President JD Vance

Since 2nd September 2025, the USA has conducted seventeen airstrikes against alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats. As of November 7th 2025, the US has killed over 69 people it alleges are narco terrorists. The video footage provided by Attorney General Pete Hegseth and Trump’s repeated claim that every drug boat blown saves 25,000 American lives, the legal and moral language being used to justify the Caribbean boat strikes draws parallels to the Bush era media and language during the invasion of Iraq. 

The USA’s particular brand of neoliberal imperialism has mostly been deployed against non-state actors, which ultimately must be tied to the governing regime at the time, coincidentally combative towards USA oil interests. Whether it’s Maduro’s Cartel de los Soles or Saddam Hussein’s Al Qaeda, only the world police can be trusted with delivering justice. In hindsight, we know that the US intelligence failed to provide any link between Hussein and Al Qaeda or evidence of WMD, a shoe-throwing worthy embarrassment for Team America. Just as in foresight, anti-war protestors in 2003 knew that the Iraq invasion was a parroting of Vietnam. By combining foresight and hindsight, we know there still hasn’t been any substantial proof of the existence of Cartel de los Soles, and the sanctions against Venezuela have restricted the USA’s access to the world’s largest oil reserve. 

Trump’s 20th January 2025 executive order has now classified cartels and criminal organisations as ‘foreign terror organisations’, paving the way for Venezuela to join the extremely exclusive list of ‘rogue’ states in the ever-changing Axis of Evil. Indeed, the never-ending terror of the War on Terror continues as Venezuelan citizens, amidst gang violence, hyperinflation, governmental corruption, and military dictatorship, now must add the looming fear of war to their already worsening living conditions. Considering the USA’s previous record in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, it is needless to say that Boravia isn’t the best liberator for Jarhanpur. The threats of war are not only creating anxiety amongst the population living inside Venezuela, but also amongst  Venezuelans living abroad. 

Ezequiel, a Venezuelan student studying at the University of Groningen, fears that the emerging conflict may interfere with his ability to study in the Netherlands. “My passport is set to expire in 2027; if an actual war were to start, acquiring a new passport would be nearly impossible”. The already existing bureaucratic mismanagement and incompetence, often due to corruption, frequently lead to severe delays in the process. “In 2022, my passport took nearly 6 months, and I would consider that very fortunate. I know a person who had to wait 2 whole years.” In light of recent events, Ezequiel worries that the already-stressed process of obtaining a passport would be exacerbated or even stopped altogether. “By no means will I defend the current regime, but Trump’s action will not only worsen the situation but also actively create new problems.” 

Due to the uncertainty of acquiring a passport, Ezequiel has already started to weigh in his worst-case scenarios and the other options available to him if he were forced to turn to them. “If my passport were to expire before I can renew one, I would have to register as an asylum seeker” Under Dutch law, asylum seekers must live in designated cities in registered asylum centres that are often overcrowded and lack sufficient policies. The IND takes approximately 78 weeks to deliver its confirmation and may, under certain circumstances, extend the decision period. The process has been made even more difficult with the previous right-wing government introducing stricter measures that make asylum status even harder to attain. “Until and if my application is approved, I won’t be able to continue my studies and worse comes to worst, I might even face deportation”. The current war against Venezuela is another spillover effect from Trump’s xenophobic rhetoric against Latin American immigrants. Nothing like combating an immigration crisis by creating more asylum seekers. “I can only hope that the lack of competence Trump’s cabinet has displayed from matters of tariffs to the GOP shutdown continues towards their attempts at starting a war with us”. 

For the Trump administration, America’s justice takes precedence over international law, and its trust in the American hegemony and position as a global superpower allows such violations. For the international community at large and all those who uphold the universalism of human rights, the confidence exhibited by Vice President JD Vance’s casual dismissal of breaking a jug cogen law like a war crime is a matter of grave concern. 

Several lawmakers have called the airstrikes unconstitutional and illegal. However, the Senate bill under the War Powers Act, which proposed to stop Trump’s Caribbean strikes, was blocked by Republican senators. 22 years after the Iraq War, there is still no mechanism in the United States’ federal government to prevent such unlawful and even criminal use of force by the presidential elect. With 42% of Americans and the democratic wing of the GOP disapproving of the war with Venezuela, America’s population must question whether the democratic division of powers at the state, legal and federal level is adequate to counter authoritarian actions. Why does the president have enough electoral power to go against the majority’s wishes?   

Vice-President JD Vance certainly has no qualms about the lack of due process when defending the Caribbean airstrikes; his total disregard towards war crime accusations is another prime example of American exceptionalism. As the defender of freedom and fairness throughout the world, America decides what ‘democratic principles’ are, and thus which countries are ‘democratic’. America’s action can’t be questioned if it defines democracy through its sheer existence. Under liberal imperialism, America becomes justice, and justice does not need to justify itself.

Disclaimer: This article was entirely human-written without the use of Artificial Intelligence.