The United States: Our president cannot be held accountable for his crimes in a US court of law.

@PeterLG @randahl not just them, but leaders and presidents of most countries in the world are now seriously at risk of abduction by any tinpot leader who disagrees with them.

@randahl Absolutely.
The right thing, done the wrong way for the wrong reasons. Especially after the MAGA propaganda about isolationism and not helping Ukraine.

It was against international law. It was against US law. They have no post-plan. They don’t care. Trump probably wants a new friendly dictator. The only undeniable good thing was the current dictator was removed.

It was probably done as Medura was looking at Chinese long range missiles to threaten Texas oil refineries to prevent such an operation as this. A strike while they can.

@ahltorp @clintruin @randahl
Fuck no. Greenland is a democracy. Venezuela is a failed state with people dying from hunger and being shot by the regime.

Can people not tell the difference?

@taatm @ahltorp @randahl

"Can people not tell the difference?"

Apparently not the people currently running the United States.

And this is the point. If the Americans ignore international law in the case of Venezuela, they can ignore international law anywhere.

This is four hours old....
'We need Greenland': Trump repeats threat to annex Danish territory
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g0zg974v1o

@DanDan420 @randahl
100% except he got elected. US has 3 years until he’s illegitimate. Until then, Trump is a legitimate arsehole. It’s on the US to sort him until then before we have to send in Canada.

@randahl I am curious how that will play out. Although I have heard that the USA never recognized Maduro. So the immunity thing might not apply.

@taatm @randahl Okay, quick recap:
In 2020 Trump lost the election, but instead of conceding, he declared himself the winner, then attempted to overthrow the Government on January 6th '21. For that he should have spent the next four years in jail awaiting trial, not on the campaign trail giving it another go; but Biden was asleep at the wheel.
Four years later this belligerent lunatic somehow won a clean sweep of all swing states. That should have raised a few eyebrows, but somehow didn't. It should also have raised eyebrows that the Democrats simply conceded without asking for a single recount. More importantly there's evidence that the voting machines were tempered with by Peter Thiel.
Had he not "won" in 2024, there would have undoubtedly been a January 6th part 2, and who know how that would have went. You don't have a legitimate democracy if one party will only accept one outcome.
So, no, Trump is not legitimate, he just breaks the law with impunity and gets away with it because nobody is holding him accountable.

@DanDan420 @randahl
Sorry mate. That’s bollocks about Trump not being legitimate. If we don’t face that we aren’t recognising the racism and Russian oil money that got him there.

There is a problem with him being elected but it’s the system around it. Also, most Democrat politicians are part of that system. ‘Racism light’ a great man once called it.

@taatm @randahl Let me say this again but slowly:
He lost an election -- then declared himself the winner -- then he tried to overthrow the results.
He was allowed to run again -- then he cheated.
The whole system being corrupt doesn't make Trump legitimate, it makes him even MORE illegitimate.
If that makes Trump legitimate, then so is Maduro.

@Quasit @CatDragon @randahl I suspect many of them know, but they're working out what to do about it behind close doors while playing nice in public.

@DanDan420 @randahl
I heard you the first time. One of your facts is wrong and unlike you I don’t fancy repeating myself.

@randahl But he could be held to account in an International Court - if he can kidnap Venezuela's President and try him in US courts than surely any other country could detain him on a visit and try him for war crimes and crimes against humanity - not least for this action of aggression against a sovereign nation - no matter how bad the President of Venezuela is.

@clintruin @taatm @randahl
It was quite an effort, but the USA was part of a regime change forced upon Germany last century.
Your Republicans have learned much from that time.

@Photo55 @taatm @randahl
The Russians too apparently.

@Photo55 @clintruin @randahl
I’m British FYI
And I’m very European

@randahl the sequel to “Air Force One” (1997) would be so different:

Gary Oldman was imprisoned, got out, won the election of 2024, is now POTUS and travels to other countries to kidnap their presidents with his team of thugs on Air Force One

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0118571/

@taatm
Aah ... Only presidents etc we consider legitimate etcs.
There's a fault in that.

Also, i've not paid the closest attention to Venezuela this century, but I don't recall any other person sworn in, enthroned, established, as president in his stead. And his was the arse upon the throne.
Conventionally, IANAL but I think that defines him as the leader with those immunities.

The ICC/ICJ in den Hague might take a view if he was taken there.

@taatm noted. So am I.
I think we would object to even people as lovely as the USAians taking our government heads away in order to plunder and burn more oil.
Granted Maduro is a less easy case, being thoroughly nasty, he is not worse than Putin.

@clintruin @taatm @randahl
And us. It was nearly an all hands job.

@taatm @rockiger @bufalo1973 @randahl When Trump crosses the line, Americans move the line to accommodate him. And then he crosses that one, so they move it again, and so on.