Interior Minister Cabello blames far-right politicians for civilian deaths following January military operation.

On Wednesday, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello blamed far-right politicians for the deaths of more than 100 civilians and military personnel on Jan. 3, when U.S. forces invaded Bolivarian territory and kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores.

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“They asked for an invasion not once but several times because they lack the courage to assume direct action. Antonio Ledezma, Julio Borges, and Leopoldo Lopez, all of them called for invasions,” he said.

Previously, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published a report revealing the contents of a secret U.S. Justice Department memorandum. This document was used as an internal legal justification for the Jan. 3 military operation against Venezuela.

In one section of the memo, which appeared redacted with “thick black lines” in the public version, U.S. officials argued that lobbying by opposition leader Maria Corina Machado “could be interpreted” as a request for intervention made by Venezuela’s “legitimate government.”

The memo, dated Dec. 23, 2025, initially contended that neither U.S. nor international law prevented Trump from ordering the operation. It also cited precedents of presidents authorizing missions without approval from Congress or the United Nations Security Council.

According to sources consulted by The Wall Street Journal, one of the “overlapping justifications” for not violating international law resided precisely in the alleged consent of Venezuelan opposition politicians. Such an argument, however, is deeply flawed.

Scott Anderson, a former State Department lawyer, noted that an opposition group’s consent would only be valid under international law if the alternative government exercised “effective control” over territory and institutions, something clearly not the case with the Venezuelan opposition.

He also noted that not even the 1989 invasion of Panama to depose Manuel Noriega used the support of the Panamanian government-in-exile as a legal justification.

The contradiction highlighted by The Wall Street Journal is even more striking. While the Justice Department memo relied in part on Machado’s alleged “legitimacy,” the Trump administration has offered its support to Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez in the days following the U.S. military incursion. Trump himself dismissed Machado, stating she “does not have the support or respect to lead the country.”

As evidenced by the leaked memo, Machado had welcomed the escalation of U.S. aggressions in October 2025, when she indicated that it was “the only way to force Maduro to understand it is time to leave.” Her warlike stance, however, dates back further.

“They will not give in if there is no real, credible, and severe threat. An imminent threat. And the only threat that makes them give in is the use of international force,” the Venezuelan far-right politician said in 2019.

teleSUR/ JF

Sources: WSJ – Con El Mazo Dando

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