Protesters in London, U.K., rally against U.S. intervention in Venezuela on Monday. Some governments are publicly declaring the U.S. attack illegal and Canada should join them, Michael Byers writes.Carl Court/Getty Images

Michael Byers teaches international law and global politics at the University of British Columbia.

Foreign troops attack a sovereign country, kill dozens of people and abduct the de facto head of state. The president who ordered the military operation declares his intent to “run” the attacked country and exploit its oil reserves.

If this sounds illegal to you, you’d be right.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio claims the operation that seized Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores was aimed at enforcing criminal indictments against them issued by the U.S. Department of Justice. That claim ignores the 1945 United Nations Charter, which centrally includes a prohibition on the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.

The U.S. has captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Is that........

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