Anybody who has been observing politics for more than a month knows one thing for certain: nearly every party, every political candidate, every political pundit, and nearly every government worldwide is a chronic and incurable hypocrite. We had a fascinating chance to observe this worldwide hypocrisy in the reactions these bodies had to the American actions in Venezuela on early January third.

United States of America

The nation that unilaterally perpetrated this action is the obvious choice to start this article with. The United States has long condemned unilateral military actions. When Vladimir Putin authorized Russian aggressive expansionism through its invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and again in 2022, the United States repeatedly condemned Russia. The US condemned Russian violations of the UN Charter Article 2, paragraph 4. Defenders of America’s intervention (including this author) labeled this as a “special military operation” or SMO, which is ironic considering Putin used the exact same label for his aggression in Ukraine.

But it cannot be overstated how different the two situations actually are. The major difference is the time it took to finish the operation. Russia has been fighting a full scale war for nearly 4 years now, meanwhile the United States went in and out in under 3 hours. This alone can separate the difference of a SMO vs. a war. The second major difference is the reaction of the local populations. When Ukraine was invaded in 2022, the Ukrainian people banded together, showed resilience and unity against a foreign invasion, songs were made and people were not willing to surrender. On the other side, the Venezuelans took to the streets to celebrate worldwide, and thank the foreign intervention for “liberating” them from a dictatorial regime.

As an important side note, I must mention that the American government was careful to label this as a military operation. Rather, they claim it was justice officials carrying out a warrant, with the US military ensuring the safety of the justice officials. This is a legal cover to legalize the unilateral actions and shouldn’t be considered seriously. For example, if this was simply a legal operation, why would the president intend to “run” the nation until a transition is possible. This is language appropriate for a SMO and blatant regime change.

The United States further expressed selective justice in this “law enforcement operation.” In August 2025, Vladimir Putin attended US-Russia talks in Anchorage, Alaska, and the United States (who notably are not members of the ICC) didn’t arrest the man accused of war crimes. Another example of this is the failure to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, a man accused of war crimes in Gaza, a man for whom the ICC also issued an arrest warrant. The current track record suggests that the US only enforces laws on leaders when they are in their home country, never when they are visiting the US.

Russia

The country that has no credibility whatsoever when it comes to international law is next. The regime under Putin has violated a variety of international and local laws. Russia has violated the Budapest Memorandum; an agreement signed in 1994 where Ukraine would exchange their nuclear weapons for security assurances. All signers also promised to never use their weapons on Ukraine, with an exception made for self-defense. Russia has violated this memorandum in 2014 when they annexed Crimea and parts of Donbas, and once again in 2022 when they launched a full scale invasion. On top of that they violated the UN Charter, Article 2, paragraph 4, which is meant to prevent countries from using force (including invasions) with exceptions for self-defense and UN Security Council approved missions.

Despite the mere fact of the invasion being a crystal clear violation of international law, the Russians also became war criminals as they were doing it. In a 2022 bid to capture Kyiv, the Russians fought a 32-day battle known as the “Battle of Bucha”. During the occupation, an event known as the “Bucha Massacre” occurred; Russian soldiers tortured and deliberately executed civilians, they also raped women and girls as young as 14. Separately, the Russians also abducted and deported many Ukrainian children into Russia, sending them into mainland Russia where they were to be re-educated into more pro-Russian doctrines. For this, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin in 2023, a warrant still active today.

Following American actions in Venezuela, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated, “Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, especially military, interference from outside,” and that the nations “should seek solutions through dialogue-based approaches.” Russia violated Ukrainian sovereignty and right to self-determination, launching then invasion, in-part to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and the EU in 2014. Russia failed to seek solutions through dialogue-based approaches, and without UN Security Council clearance proceeded to invade and annex Ukrainian Crimea and parts of the Donbas region.

China

China is unquestionably one of the big three global powers: the USA, China, and Russia. Only Russia is seriously doubted in that arrangement. And it only makes sense that, just like the other two, they would be knee-deep in hypocrisy. After conquering Tibet in the 50s, a place many saw as a sovereign nation, with its own government and people, and cracking down on Hong Kong in 2020, violating the “one country, two systems” promise made in an international treaty. China has been eyeing the breakaway island-nation of Taiwan for some time now. US intel suggests that Xi Jinping ordered the People’s Liberation Army to be ready for “reunification” by 2027. It must be deeply embarrassing for Beijing watching the US carry out such a precise and successful operation. An operation the Chinese were so unready for, they had sent Chinese negotiators to meet Maduro hours before the operation happened.

In the aftermath of these strikes, China called on the US to “stop violating other countries’ sovereignty and security.” Meanwhile, the CCP can’t stop violating the basic human rights of Uyghurs in their own country. China has performed detentions of Uyghurs en masse, attempted cultural erasure, and sent them to forced labor camps. Furthermore, Chinese Belt and Road “debt-trap diplomacy” is a stark example of economic neocolonialism. The Chinese would offer large loans to developing countries, loans they would not be able to pay back. When they inevitably default on those loans, the Chinese end up with a large ownership share of the countries public and private infrastructure. China Daily, a state media outlet, labeled the US actions in Venezuela as “an act of imperialist aggression,” conveniently ignoring Chinese acts of economic aggression in many developing nations, including Venezuela.

While China demands that the US respects Venezuela’s sovereignty, China itself often ignores that principle when there is a matter of state interest involved. In a world where no nation acts in international interest, failing to act in your own is like being a sheep in a den of wolves. This is a sad reflection on our current geopolitical climate, yet the UN and all other international bodies seem to have failed, like the League of Nations before them. Just like any other law, international law needs stern enforcement, and alas the “international police” seems to have become the criminal.