US actions in Venezuela amount to outright imperialism and pose a threat to the entire system of international relations, according to Franziska Brantner, co-chair of Germany’s Green Party. She shared this assessment in an interview with the newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine.

Brantner argued that threatening a sovereign state with military force without any basis in international law, while openly declaring access to its oil resources as the objective, fits the definition of imperialism in its purest form. Such behavior, she warned, risks pushing the global order back toward the rule of brute force.

In that scenario, Brantner said, the world could slide into a new era dominated by great-power politics. She added that statements by US President Donald Trump about his intention to annex Greenland should be seen in Europe as a serious warning signal within this broader context.

The Green Party co-chair also took aim at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, saying his comments on the situation in Venezuela appeared to reflect an attempt to avoid reality and steer clear of confrontation. Based on past experience, she stressed, Trump responds only to firm and decisive positions.

On January 3, Merz said that a legal assessment of US actions in Venezuela would take time. He emphasized the need to prevent political instability in the country and to ensure a transition to legitimate authority through an electoral process. At the same time, the chancellor refrained from directly stating that the US operation violated international law.