The arrest and transfer of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro to the United States has triggered an immediate and predictable global split, not just over international law, but over how the world defines legitimacy, accountability, and the limits of sovereignty in an era of transnational crime.When a leader stays in power after his people vote him out and he uses the whole of government, military, and criminal networks to manufacture and run drugs into the U.S. is he a legitimate leader? Does the U.S. have the right to defend itself and use the law to indict him and have him face charges?At the center of the controversy is a sweeping superseding indictment unsealed in January 2026 in federal court in Manhattan, charging Maduro and members of his inner circle with narco-terrorism,
