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In an interview with host Glenn Diesen on January 4, 2026, renowned economist, Columbia University professor, and longtime UN advisor Jeffrey Sachs analyses the events. Sachs describes the attack as a \u201cblatantly illegal, unprovoked act<\/em>\u201d and as symptomatic of a profound shift in the US: from a constitutional state to a military regime under \u201cthuggish rule<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\nThis article is based entirely on the transcript of that interview and summarizes Sachs’s arguments, supplemented by the geopolitical context he himself outlines.<\/p>\n
The attack constitutes a blatant violation of international law<\/strong><\/p>\n Sachs begins with a clear assessment: \u201cClearly this is a blatantly illegal act<\/em>.\u201d He describes it as an unprovoked attack and a \u201ckidnapping<\/em>\u201d of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. This act is part of a long series of illegal US actions.<\/p>\n In recent days and weeks, President Trump has threatened new countries daily:<\/p>\n These acts of aggression were carried out by executive order, without regard for the US Constitution<\/em>. When a member of Congress mentioned the Constitution<\/em>, Trump asked: \u201cWhat is he whining about? This is ridiculous<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n For Sachs, this reveals the end of constitutional rule in the USA. The nation is now in a \u201cmilitary state<\/em>,\u201d governed by brutal thuggish rule. This makes the world \u201cextraordinarily dangerous<\/em>,\u201d especially in the nuclear age.<\/p>\n Sachs emphasizes that the story is not yet over. Maduro’s arrest does not mean the end of the regime. Venezuela has a functioning government, a military, mobilized segments of society, and plenty of weapons. \u201cThis is not a simple, smooth takeover<\/em>,\u201d he warns \u2013 Trump may imagine it that way, but the reality is more complex.<\/p>\n The US history of approximately 100 regime change operations since 1945 has been marked by bloodshed, instability, coups, assassinations and civil wars.<\/p>\n The silence of institutions: Media, Congress and Europe<\/strong><\/p>\n Sachs finds the silence of the US media particularly alarming. The New York Times<\/em>, as the \u201cpaper of record<\/em>,\u201d failed to issue a warning of an attack; its editorial board remained silent. Congress exists \u201cin no operational sense<\/em>.\u201d This underscores the transition to a system without counterforces.<\/p>\n Europe is reacting \u201cpathetically<\/em>.\u201d Instead of outrage at the violation of the UN Charter<\/em>, leaders are only expressing hope for stability soon. Sachs suggests renaming the Nobel Peace Prize<\/em> the \u201cNobel War Prize<\/em>\u201d: in 2025 it went to Mar\u00eda Corina Machado, who called for a US military intervention against Venezuela \u2013 and now it has occurred.<\/p>\n Europe is oscillating between complete vassalage towards the US and its own warmongering against Russia. It lacks diplomacy, peace, and a commitment to multilateralism.<\/p>\n The true goals: oil theft and imperial domination<\/strong><\/p>\n Trump openly declared: \u201cThe oil is ours<\/em>.\u201d US companies would return there and do business. Sachs calls this a \u201ccrass grab for Venezuelan oil<\/em>\u201d \u2013 raw imperialism without any legal basis in international law.<\/p>\n This is reminiscent of the time before the two world wars, only now in the nuclear age with an \u201cunhinged, undisciplined, crude bully<\/em>\u201d at the helm of the USA, without a European counterweight.<\/p>\n This should serve as a warning for Latin America: Trump is proclaiming US dominance over the Western Hemisphere (a renewed Monroe Doctrine<\/em>). Other powers, such as China, are to be marginalized.<\/p>\n Long-term US projects and false narratives<\/strong><\/p>\n All official justifications \u2013 narco-terrorism, links to Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Russia, China \u2013 are improvised lies. The US has been trying for 23 years to overthrow the left-wing government that controls national resources of Venezuela.<\/p>\n As early as 2017, Trump asked at a dinner: \u201cWhy don’t we just invade Venezuela?<\/em>\u201d Marco Rubio, now Secretary of State, was the main advocate. Celebrations by Venezuelan exiles in Florida underscored the domestic political aspect (swing state).<\/p>\n Sachs compares it to other \u201cprojects\u201d:<\/p>\n Venezuela possesses the world’s largest oil reserves and is now \u201cunder US rule, indefinitely<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n The myth \u201cDemocracy brings peace\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Sachs exposes the idea that democracy leads to peace as a \u201cfairy tale<\/em>\u201d and an \u201cOrwellian idea<\/em>.\u201d Historical democracies like Athens, the British Empire, and the USA were the most aggressive hegemons.<\/p>\n The Nobel Peace Prize<\/em> awarded to Machado fits the logic of the last 30 years: \u201cWar is peace<\/em>\u201d \u2013 peace through military export of democracy.<\/p>\n Western media defame Maduro as a dictator to suggest the need for freedom; the EU stands \u201cwith the Venezuelan people<\/em>\u201d and against the president.<\/p>\n Global consequences and risk of escalation<\/strong><\/p>\n The UN is as useless as the League of Nations in the 1930s. Russia and China condemned the act but would not intervene. The rest of the world should defend itself.<\/p>\n An attack on Iran (likely) would be far more dangerous \u2013 Iran would not be a pushover, and it would have allies. The \u201ccontagion effect\u201d of lawlessness would lead to unforeseen catastrophes.<\/p>\n Outlook: Instability and division within Trump’s base<\/strong><\/p>\n Success depends on the next few weeks. Sachs’ prediction: \u201cNothing will go smoothly<\/em>.\u201d The operation is a \u201cdecapitation<\/em>,\u201d not a regime change. History (e.g., Lindsey O’Rourke’s book on 64 covert regime changes from 1947 to 1989) usually shows lasting instability.<\/p>\n Even if the goals (pro-US democracy with Chevron\/Exxon) are achieved, this is unlikely. Trump’s \u201cAmerica First<\/em>\u201d support base is splitting: Circles close to Tucker-Carlson see it as a betrayal of the anti-intervention mandate.<\/p>\n Conclusion: An urgent warning<\/strong><\/p>\n Sachs appealed: The world should not remain inactive. International institutions were created to prevent a Third World War in the nuclear age. As an American, he didn’t agree with the takeover of Venezuela, but the citizens weren’t being asked.<\/p>\n\n
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