In response to today’s breaking developments involving U.S. military action in Venezuela and the apprehension of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Jessica Peake, Director of the International & Comparative Law Program at UCLA School of Law, is available for interviews.

Professor Peake can address questions in international law arising from the Trump Administration’s actions, including state sovereignty, the prohibition on the use of force, and the legality of exercising U.S. criminal jurisdiction over a sitting foreign head of state.

“The U.S. military intervention in Venezuela is a violation of the principle of non-intervention under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and a violation of Venezuelan territorial sovereignty, with no basis for justification as an act of self-defense by the United States.

The charges unveiled in the indictment against Maduro do not justify this action and, while they may proceed in U.S. courts under the Ker-Frisbee doctrine, may be unlawful under international law.”

--Jess Peake

Among her other scholarly works, Professor Peake is a co-author of Crisis as Catalyst: The Past, Present, and Future of International Law, published in October 2025 by the independent, nonpartisan digital law and policy journal Just Security.

She is available for television, radio, print, and digital interviews on short notice. Journalists may contact her directly by clicking here.

Additional UCLA Law Experts

UCLA School of Law faculty are available to comment on a wide range of international and domestic legal issues shaping the current political landscape, including international law and the law of armed conflict, presidential and executive power, foreign relations law, election regulation, constitutional law, and federal–state relations.

Media Contacts: media@law.ucla.edu

Carl Marziali carl@lindavistapr.com 

Geoffrey Baum geoff@lindavistapr.com