Flu and pneumonia meant that I missed most of Christmas.

So you can forgive me for believing I was hallucinating when I awoke on Saturday to news that American President Donald Trump had kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

I don’t know why I was surprised. The unstable world order we’ve become accustomed to is degenerating into farce, with real‑life consequences for millions.

I am not an expert in Venezuelan or American politics. Few people here are.

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It doesn’t take a genius, however, to work out that one egomaniac had given orders to abduct another egomaniac dictator in a ruthless Houdini‑like swoop.

Trump’s approval ratings have been sliding recently amid the chaotic release of the Epstein files, rising inflation, and health care spending. The Economist’s January poll put him at 39%; The New York Times at 42%.

Maduro’s show-hearing in a New York court might increase Trump’s favourability on American soil, but he is ripping up the international rulebook, leaving citizens worldwide in a state of vulnerable limbo.

The 2025 Democracy Perception Index shows China is now more popular globally than the US, which ranks behind Israel and its own violent regime.

Against that backdrop, Trump chest‑thumped and described Saturday’s escapade as “one of the most stunning,........

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