'I don't need int'l law', says Trump

Cancels second wave of attacks on Venezuela; Neighbours, allies sharply critical of US moves

NEW YORK:

President Donald Trump's increasingly expansive view of US power, openly dismissive of international law and anchored instead in what he calls his "own morality", is sending shockwaves across capitals as Washington deepens military, economic and political interventions from Latin America to Europe and the Arctic.

In an interview with The New York Times published on Thursday, Trump said his authority as commander-in-chief was constrained only by his personal moral judgement. "Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It's the only thing that can stop me," he said, adding bluntly, "I don't need international law. I'm not looking to hurt people."

Pressed on whether his administration was bound by international law, Trump replied, "I do," before qualifying the remark by saying, "It depends what your definition of international law is." His comments came as the United States acknowledged military strikes or operations during the first year of his second term in Venezuela, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Nigeria, Iraq and Iran.

Trump also appeared dismissive of the last remaining US-Russia nuclear arms control agreement, New START, which expires on February 5. "If it expires, it expires," he told the newspaper, adding, "We'll just do a better agreement," and insisting China should be included in any future deal.

The remarks coincided with dramatic developments in Venezuela, where Trump said on Friday he scrapped a planned second wave of US attacks after the new leadership in Caracas began releasing political prisoners.

"Venezuela is releasing large numbers of political prisoners as a sign of 'Seeking Peace'," he wrote on his Truth Social platform. "Because of this cooperation, I have cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks."

The prisoner releases followed a deadly January 3 US special forces raid, accompanied by airstrikes, in which Washington seized leftist President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and flew them to New York to face drug charges. Caracas says around 100 people were killed during the operation.

Maduro's deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, assumed interim leadership, while her brother, parliament speaker Jorge Rodriguez, said a "large number of Venezuelan and foreign nationals" were being freed in the interest of "peaceful coexistence".

Rights group Foro Penal had earlier estimated more than 800 political prisoners were being held. The White House swiftly took credit for the releases, though Trump has played down democracy as a motivation for the intervention, despite years of US claims that Maduro's elections were fraudulent.

Trump said US oil companies had pledged $100 billion in investment, as Washington moves to "run" Venezuela for a transitional period and tap into its vast oil reserves. The US also announced it had seized another tanker, the Olina, attempting to break an American naval blockade on Venezuelan oil, the fifth vessel detained in recent weeks.

International reaction has been sharply critical. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said they supported a "peaceful, negotiated, and Venezuelan-led transition process" that respected sovereignty and international law. Lula condemned Washington's actions as crossing an "unacceptable line", while the UN human rights office said the intervention violated international law and made the world less safe.

Trump's comments have also unsettled neighbouring Mexico, after he suggested the US could carry out ground attacks to combat drug cartels. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she had ordered her foreign minister to strengthen communication with Washington, instructing him to contact the US secretary of state and, if necessary, speak directly with Trump.

In Europe, alarm is growing over Washington's posture, particularly Trump's renewed threats to bring Greenland under US control, potentially by force. NATO's top commander in Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, said the alliance was "far from being in a crisis" and ready to defend "every inch" of its territory, but acknowledged Trump's comments had raised concerns.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she did not believe the United States would launch a military move against Greenland, warning that any such action would have serious consequences for NATO and stressing the need for a strong allied presence in the Arctic.

France struck a sharper tone. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Europe's political order was "in danger" and insisted Paris had the right to say "no" to Washington when proposals were unacceptable. "In a matter of months, the new American administration decided to rethink the ties that bind us," he said. "It is also our right to say 'no' to a historic ally, however historic it may be."

Barrot rejected US claims that Europe faced "civilisational erasure", warning instead of threats from outside adversaries, democratic fatigue within, and the erosion of arms control frameworks, including the looming expiration of New START, which he said raised the risk of nuclear proliferation.

Germany, meanwhile, announced that its foreign and finance ministers would visit Washington next week amid tensions over Greenland, Ukraine, transatlantic security and access to critical raw materials, underlining growing European unease as Trump continues to redefine the limits of US power on his own terms.