Archive · 8 Jan 2026
Trump administration drafts new legal justification for Maduro operation
The Trump administration is working on a new legal justification for a potential operation against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
This is similar to a legal opinion written in 1989 during the George H.W. Bush administration.
That opinion, written by William Barr, allowed the U.S. to remove Panamanian President Manuel Noriega from power.
The memo helped the U.S. arrest Noriega for drug trafficking.
The new justification is being drafted to support possible future actions against Maduro.
The Trump administration is drafting a new legal justification for an operation against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
This follows a 1989 legal opinion written by William Barr during the George H.W. Bush administration.
The 1989 memo allowed the U.S. to remove Panamanian President Manuel Noriega from power.
Noriega was arrested and faced domestic drug trafficking charges.
The new justification is being prepared to support potential future actions against Maduro.
- Who
- Trump administration, William Barr, Manuel Noriega
- What
- Drafting of new legal justification for Maduro operation
- When
- During the George H.W. Bush administration (1989)
- Where
- United States
- Why
- To provide legal backbone for potential operations similar to the removal of Manuel Noriega
- Administration
- Trump administration
- Legal Justification
- New legal justification for Maduro operation
- Historical Precedent
- 1989 OLC memo during George H.W. Bush administration
- Author of Memo
- William Barr, then-Assistant Attorney General
- Operation
- Removal of Panamanian President Manuel Noriega
- Charges
- Domestic drug trafficking charges
- Memo Nickname
- The “abduction opinion”