Dixon: What Trump’s ‘extraordinary military operation’ in Venezuela may mean for Europe, global economy

Simon Dixon: That poses a particular challenge for Europe, which has spent the past four years trying to rally global support for Ukraine on the basis that Russia’s invasion broke international law. European leaders over the weekend were faced with a choice: condemn the breach of international law and risk Trump’s rage, with possible consequences for US security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe; or support the US transaction and risk being made to look like hypocrites. Most chose to sit on the fence, issuing feeble statements that barely mentioned international law, which inevitably prompted Kremlin taunts of double standards. Meanwhile, talking of double standards, the most full-throated denunciations of US law-breaking came from Russia’s allies, China and Iran, which only confirmed the old order is irretrievably broken…