FILE: Caracas, Venezuela - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Venezuelan national flag

Catia La Mar, Venezuela - Jan 7, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
2. Various of destroyed buildings after U.S. bombing, people clearing debris

FILE: Washington D.C. USA - October 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of White House

USA - Jan 10, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Charles (Chas) W. Freeman Jr., former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense:
"This is an unprovoked aggression by the United States. It is the product of a decision by the Trump administration to go beyond the original Monroe Doctrine and exercise a sort of tyranny over the Western Hemisphere in which the only sovereignty that counts is that of the United States."

Caracas, Venezuela - Jan 5, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Various of security forces on local street

USA - Jan 10, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Charles (Chas) W. Freeman Jr., former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense:
"The war was unconstitutional. The Congress defaulted on its responsibility to authorize the use of force against another nation. It was illegal, therefore, under American law. But more importantly, it was a violation of many, many elements of international law, and particularly the seizure of the sovereign, the chief of state and government, President Maduro. And his rendition to a court in New York was another violation of multiple treaties and conventions."

Venezuela - Jan 3, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Various of gas station
8. National flag of Venezuela

USA - Jan 10, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Charles (Chas) W. Freeman Jr., former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense:
"I think in a broad sense, this was the end of three centuries of Western civilization's efforts to build a rule-based order internationally, where the rules are based on international consensus, not on unilateral proclamations by any single great power. And therefore it sets a very bad precedent."

FILE: Washington D.C., USA - Oct 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Various of Capitol building, U.S. national flag

A former high-ranking U.S. defense official has issued a scathing critique of recent American military actions against Venezuela, labeling them an illegal and unconstitutional aggression that sets a dangerous international precedent.

The United States launched military operations in Venezuela that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on Jan 3. The Venezuelan government said the strikes hit civilian and military sites in at least four states, including Caracas, Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira. The U.S. attack has left 100 dead, Venezuela's interior ministry said Wednesday.

Charles (Chas) W. Freeman Jr., a veteran diplomat and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense, said that the operation was a unilateral assertion of power that disregards both American law and international norms.

"This is an unprovoked aggression by the United States. It is the product of a decision by the Trump administration to go beyond the original Monroe Doctrine and exercise a sort of tyranny over the Western Hemisphere in which the only sovereignty that counts is that of the United States," he said.

Freeman further elaborated on the legal failings of the military action, pointing out that it lacked the necessary authorization from Congress and violated multiple international treaties, particularly concerning the capture of a head of state.

"The war was unconstitutional. The Congress defaulted on its responsibility to authorize the use of force against another nation. It was illegal, therefore, under American law. But more importantly, it was a violation of many, many elements of international law, and particularly the seizure of the sovereign, the chief of state and government, President Maduro. And his rendition to a court in New York was another violation of multiple treaties and conventions," he said.

Freeman warned that the action signals a grave departure from centuries of diplomatic tradition.

"I think in a broad sense, this was the end of three centuries of Western civilization's efforts to build a rule-based order internationally, where the rules are based on international consensus, not on unilateral proclamations by any single great power. And therefore it sets a very bad precedent," he said.