Wednesday briefing: What Europe’s silence over Venezuela says about its fear of Trump

In today’s newsletter: Leaders’ refusal to condemn the US’s intervention in Caracas shows a desperation to keep the White House on side – but a red line might not be far awayGood morning. The dramatic seizure of Nicolás Maduro from Caracas by US forces, to face trial in New York, has sent diplomatic shock waves around the world. For European leaders, it has exposed an uncomfortable dilemma: how to welcome the removal of an authoritarian ruler without endorsing an action that many legal experts say tramples over international law.Politicians in opposition, of course, are freer to speak their minds. In the UK, the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, said that “where the legal certainty is not yet clear, morally I do think it was the right thing to do”, while Liberal Democrat Ed Davey demanded that Keir Starmer condemn what he unequivocally described as an “illegal action in Venezuela”.Greenland | Donald Trump and his advisers are looking into “a range of options” in an effort to acquire Greenland, noting in a White House statement on Tuesday that using the US military to do so is “always an option”.UK politics | The government must find ways to reconnect emotionally with voters, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff is said to have warned cabinet ministers, in a meeting where the prime minister said they were in “the fight of our lives”.Crans-Montana fire | Authorities in Crans-Montana have said the bar that caught fire in the Swiss ski resort on New Year’s Eve, killing 40 mainly young partygoers, had not been inspected by safety officers for the past five years.Spain | A foundation representing Princess Leonor, the 20-year-old heir to the Spanish throne, has warned that scammers are using AI-generated videos of the princess posted by fake profile pages to cheat social media users out of money.US politics | The Trump administration has abandoned efforts to combat child exploitation, human trafficking and cartels as it diverts thousands of law enforcement personnel to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Democratic senators said in a letter to the White House. Continue reading...