The removal of Nicolas Maduro from the leadership of Venezuela by Donald Trump is a completely unprecedented episode.
The United States has found ways over time to get rid of inconvenient leaders. However, never in a similar manner, as shown in a Sky News analysis.
Nations do not send troops into other sovereign states to capture their leaders - let alone the United States, which until recently presented itself as the guarantor of international order based on rules.
The details are still unclear, but regardless of the assessment of Nicolas Maduro, a disastrous and ultimately illegitimate leader, the way he was removed seems to contradict the principles of international law.
Maduro was undoubtedly an extremely harmful leader, Sky News further writes. He rigged elections and mismanaged Venezuela's economy so poorly that a quarter of the population was forced to flee the country. He clung to power through repression, regardless of costs, while a kleptocratic regime plundered a resource-rich country.
Neighboring states will publicly react with concern, but privately are very likely to welcome the end of the Maduro regime.
US allies, however, will be concerned about the implications of this precedent for the rules-based international order.
There are reports that Maduro may have been handed over by his own security forces, turned against him under constant pressure from Washington.
This could allow the Trump administration to claim that it facilitated an internal change of power. However, there is no doubt that none of this would have happened without the accumulation of American military force and other discreet actions carried out behind the scenes.
In the days and weeks ahead, the Trump administration will have to demonstrate that this episode does not pave the way for new violations of international law and that the end justifies the means.
Additionally, as Sky News writes, the US government will need to clarify under what conditions it intends to bring Maduro to justice.
In the past year, America's allies have become increasingly alarmed by the deterioration of international law and the world order under the impact of Donald Trump's decisions.
They will undoubtedly welcome the end of Nicolas Maduro - but they will remain deeply unsettled by the way he was removed.