President Donald Trump recognized Juan Guaido, the leader of the opposition as the interim president of Venezuela on Wednesday. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro announced he was breaking off diplomatic ties with the United States.

See IPA Twitter list on Venezuela for updates.

MIGUEL TINKER SALAS, mrt04747 at pomona.edu, @mtinkersalas

Tinker Salas is author of Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press). He is professor of history and Latin American studies at Pomona College; his previous books include The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture, and Society in Venezuela.

He said today that the U.S. government’s actions were a “clear violation of the UN Charter and multiple international treaties.

“It is preposterous to suggest that the president of the U.S., Brazil or Colombia should dictate who should hold power in Venezuela. That is a decision to be determined solely by the people of Venezuela.”

He appeared on an Institute for Public Accuracy news release on Tuesday: “Is Venezuelan Opposition Aiming for ‘Ungovernablity’?”

UN Charter reads in article 2(4): “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”

Organization of American States Charter:

Article 19: “No State or group of States has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other State. The foregoing principle prohibits not only armed force but also any other form of interference or attempted threat against the personality of the State or against its political, economic, and cultural elements.”

Article 20: “No State may use or encourage the use of coercive measures of an economic or political character in order to force the sovereign will of another State and obtain from it advantages of any kind.”