International law experts say that the Donald Trump administration has muddied the legal waters by claiming this operation is both a targeted law enforcement mission and a potential prelude to long-term U.S. control over Venezuela. Jeremy Paul, a professor of constitutional law at Northeastern University, stated: “‘You can’t say this is a law enforcement operation and then turn around and say we now need to run the country. It just doesn’t make sense.’” Legal experts argue that drug trafficking and gang violence are considered criminal activities that do not meet the internationally recognized standards for justifying armed conflict, and therefore there is no justification for military action.Matthew Waxman, a law professor at Columbia University specializing in national security law, said: “A criminal indictment alone is not sufficient to authorize the use of military force to overthrow a foreign government, and the government would likely attribute this to a theory of self-defense.”