\n<\/p>\n
Keir Starmer has got used to walking a diplomatic tightrope with Donald Trump. But the US president\u2019s Venezuelan adventure, whisking its leader out of the country after a late-night raid, has pushed that cautious approach to its limits.<\/p>\n
The clues were all there. Ever since Trump confirmed that he had authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela against drug traffickers \u2013 and blockaded oil tankers \u2013 the military campaign had been mounting.<\/p>\n
But despite the US president\u2019s threats to oust Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, some on the UK side had put them in the same \u201cunbelievable\u201d category as Trump\u2019s promise to bring peace to Ukraine on his first day in the White House, or plans to develop a \u201cGaza Riviera\u201d.<\/p>\n
When the dramatic raid did finally happen, with Trump saying the Venezuelan had been seized for \u201cnarco-terrorism\u201d, the UK prime minister took 16 hours to respond publicly, and even then it was a masterclass in hedging his bets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime,\u201d Starmer said, but then \u2013 as might be expected from a former human rights lawyer \u2013 reiterated his support for international law.<\/p>\n
The UK government has continued this approach since: say as little as possible that might offend Trump; leave it to the US to explain the legal justification for the move; and, in the words of one aide, \u201crecognise that it\u2019s not our fight\u201d.<\/p>\n
Labour\u2019s political opponents on its progressive wing \u2013 the Lib Dems and the Greens \u2013 have piled pressure on the government to condemn the US action.<\/p>\n
Downing Street gives short shrift to the idea \u2013 suggested most forcibly on its own side by Emily Thornberry, the chair of the foreign affairs committee \u2013 that a lack of western condemnation might embolden China and Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cComparisons between the developments over the weekend and the full scale invasion of a sovereign, democratic state is a bad comparison,\u201d Starmer\u2019s spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
Even the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, took a stronger line, suggesting Trump had indeed violated international law by capturing Maduro (but adding that \u201cit may be a good thing\u201d if it made Russia and China think twice).<\/p>\n
The government is \u2013 apparently \u2013 unwilling to rock the boat when a multibillion-pound trade deal and peace in Ukraine are at stake. \u201cWe\u2019re taking the realpolitik route,\u201d one insider said.<\/p>\n
But some senior government officials, including in the Foreign Office, are uncomfortable at the extent of what they see as fence-sitting as the UK\u2019s unreliable ally over the Atlantic wreaks yet more havoc on the international order.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody thinks Maduro was a good guy, or that he should have been in power,\u201d one said. \u201cBut effectively kidnapping a head of state to achieve regime change sets you on a dangerous path.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some on the political side have also privately voiced concerns. \u201cIf we let this happen without condemning it then where does it stop? Colombia? Cuba? Even Greenland? Where does Trump strike next?\u201d one minister questioned.<\/p>\n
Downing Street insiders \u2013 perhaps conscious of alarm over Trump\u2019s actions among Labour MPs \u2013 insist the UK would take a more robust approach if a European ally were ever threatened.<\/p>\n
Starmer has publicly backed the Danish prime minister after she demanded the US stop its threats to forcibly take over Greenland, which is largely autonomous but remains part of the Danish kingdom, for security and mineral resources.<\/p>\n
The foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, later told MPs: \u201cThe future of Greenland is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes \u2013 and no one else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starmer \u2013 who has been trying to call Trump since Friday night\u2019s attack \u2013 is due to finally speak to the US president after a meeting of the \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d in Paris on Tuesday. Their tone is likely to be emollient.<\/p>\n
The prime minister has told colleagues that one day, there may come a time when he finally needs to take a tough stance against Trump \u2013 but this does not yet appear to be that moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny decision like that comes with a choice,\u201d Starmer told them, according to sources. \u201cAre we willing to risk damaging our most important economic and national security partnerships as a result? We need to weigh up the cost to our own interests.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Keir Starmer has got used to walking a diplomatic tightrope with Donald Trump. But the US president\u2019s Venezuelan adventure, whisking its leader out of the country after a late-night raid, has pushed that cautious approach to its limits. The clues were all there. Ever since Trump confirmed that he had authorised the CIA to conduct<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[4702,4081,21716,21715,10420,1347,4723],"class_list":{"0":"post-40389","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics","8":"tag-bets","9":"tag-delivers","10":"tag-hedging","11":"tag-masterclass","12":"tag-raid","13":"tag-starmer","14":"tag-venezuela"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}