This is my third post related to the crisis in Venezuela, and the shortest one on that matter. As usual, I defend the principles of justice and freedom, not some dictator or authoritarian regime. But US’ extraterritoriality claims are akin to imperialism and even international terrorism.

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According to the press, Maduro has been indicted on four counts: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. Now, he is a president of a country, and he never ever entered the US. How could he have broken the US law while outside US territory and jurisdiction? Furthermore, “possession of machine guns and destructive devices,” really? A president of another country, in his own country, has to observe US laws on weapons?

Grok answered:

The United States can prosecute certain crimes committed outside its borders under the principle of extraterritorial jurisdiction, which Congress has explicitly authorized in statutes related to drug trafficking and related offenses. This allows U.S. laws to apply to actions abroad if they are part of a conspiracy intended to cause effects within the U.S., such as importing narcotics. For drug-related conspiracies like those charged against Nicolás Maduro, federal law reaches conduct outside U.S. territory when the intent is to manufacture, distribute, or import controlled substances into the United States or its waters. Specifically, statutes such as 21 U.S.C. § 959(c) state that they are “intended to reach acts of manufacture or distribution committed outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.” Venue for such cases is established under 18 U.S.C. § 3238, which covers offenses begun and committed outside any U.S. state or district but prosecutable in federal court, often where a defendant is first brought after arrest.

In Maduro’s case, the superseding indictment alleges he led a long-running conspiracy with Venezuelan officials, his family, and groups like the FARC (designated as a foreign terrorist organization) to flood the U.S. with cocaine, using Venezuelan government resources to protect and facilitate shipments destined for American markets. The charges—narco-terrorism conspiracy (21 U.S.C. § 960a), cocaine importation conspiracy (21 U.S.C. §§ 952(a), 959(a), 959(c), 960(a)(1), 960(a)(3), 963), possession of machine guns and destructive devices (18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A) and (B)(ii)), and conspiracy to possess them (18 U.S.C. § 924(o))—are all tied to this alleged scheme. Because the conspiracy’s object was to import drugs into the U.S., extraterritorial jurisdiction applies, even though Maduro never entered the country and the acts occurred primarily in Venezuela.

Regarding the weapons charges, these aren’t about Maduro violating standalone U.S. gun laws in Venezuela as a foreign leader. Instead, they stem from 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), which criminalizes possessing or using firearms (including machine guns and destructive devices) in furtherance of a federal drug trafficking crime. The indictment claims the defendants armed their narco-terrorist partners with such weapons to protect cocaine shipments bound for the U.S., making the possession part of the broader conspiracy that triggers U.S. jurisdiction. U.S. courts have upheld this extraterritorial reach for § 924(c) when linked to drug offenses that themselves apply abroad. Maduro’s status as Venezuela’s de facto leader doesn’t immunize him under these laws; the U.S. views his regime as illegitimate and corrupt, but the statutes focus on the criminal conduct’s nexus to American interests, not diplomatic immunity (which he lacks in U.S. eyes anyway).

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There isn’t any other country in the world that claims to have extraterritorial, meaning worldwide, jurisdiction. 

The only way someone can break the law of a country they never set foot to is to hack an IT system there or to commit any other “digital” crime. Even if cybercrime is performed remotely, it is considered to be as if it were performed physically at the place of the victim.

How could anyone consider the US to be anything but the most imperialistic country on Earth?

It’s painful to realize that English is the lingua franca of our time, and I even consciously prefer American English to British English for communication. I feel now like those people in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1940s and 1950s who had to use Russian to interact with the occupying Red Army and the Soviet “advisers.” Oh, Venezuela will soon swarm with American “advisers”! It’s going to be fun. The Venezuelan people will become rich and happy in no time!