Falana said the situation escalated with the reported bombing of Caracas and the overthrow of the Venezuelan government.
Nigerian human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has called on the United States Congress to sanction President Donald Trump over what he described as an illegal invasion of Venezuela, warning that the action constitutes a grave violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.
Falana also urged the U.S. judiciary to reject what he termed a dubious attempt by President Trump to deploy domestic courts to undermine the sovereign rights of the Venezuelan people as guaranteed under international law.
In a statement reacting to reports of U.S. military action in Caracas, Falana accused President Trump of bombing the Venezuelan capital, toppling President Nicolás Maduro, killing scores of unarmed civilians, and moving to seize the country’s oil resources.
According to Falana, the Venezuela operation is part of a pattern of what he called “reckless gangsterism” by Trump in his second term in office, marked by repeated military actions undertaken without congressional approval.
"In his second term in office, the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, has repeatedly engaged in reckless gangsterism. A few months ago, he bombed Iran without congressional approval.
"In November last year, Mr. Trump threatened to attack Nigeria, gun-a-blazing over his so-called Christian genocide," Falana said.
He further recalled that on December 25, 2025, President Trump announced what he described as powerful and deadly strikes against militants allegedly linked to the Islamic State (IS) group in north-western Nigeria, again without securing congressional approval.
"On December 25, 2025, Mr. Trump announced that he had launched "powerful and deadly" strikes against militants linked to the Islamic State group (IS) in north-western Nigeria. Once again, he did not secure congressional approval," he said.
Falana said the situation escalated with the reported bombing of Caracas and the overthrow of the Venezuelan government.
He said that following the invasion, President Trump announced the capture of a foreign head of state and his wife, who were subsequently charged with terrorism and narcotics offences in a U.S. District Court.
“The abduction and extraordinary rendition of a sitting president of a sovereign state is indeed a blatant violation of international law,” Falana stated. “The hypocrisy and double standard of the so-called international community are so glaring.”
Beyond the military action, Falana accused the Trump administration of attempting to establish a transition regime in Venezuela aimed solely at seizing the country’s vast oil and gas resources, effectively turning it into what he described as “a new colony of the United States.”
While noting the ideological differences between the US and Maduro’s administration, Falana insisted that such disagreements cannot justify external military intervention or regime change.
“Notwithstanding ideological differences with the Maduro administration, the United States Congress should sanction Mr. Trump for the illegal invasion of Venezuela,” he said.
“We equally call on the judiciary of the United States to reject the dubious attempt by Mr. Trump to use domestic courts to subvert the sovereign rights of the people of Venezuela guaranteed by international law.”
Falana also condemned what he called the hypocrisy and double standards of the international community, warning that silence in the face of such actions undermines global justice.
He called on the United Nations to rise to the occasion and stand with the people of Venezuela.
“The UN must stand with the people of Venezuela and demand justice and accountability for the fundamental breach of the United Nations Charter if the global body is to uphold the letter and spirit of Charter and claim any credibility,” Falana said.