The recent move by the United States to sanction and call for the arrest of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro is not an isolated incident. It is the latest chapter in a long and contentious history of US intervention in Latin America. What makes this act distinct, however, is its execution without congressional endorsement, casting a long shadow over its domestic and international legitimacy. This unilateral approach undermines the very rules-based order the US often champions, revealing a deepening pattern of executive overreach in foreign policy.