Peter Hanseler: Trump the Robber Baron
"We want peace, liberty and justice" - Donald Trump, January 3, 2026
by Peter Hanseler [1-4-2026].
Peter Hanseler, born in 1964, studied law at Zurich University law school (lic. iur.) and then worked there as a research assistant for Prof. Heinrich Honsell, Professor of Roman Law and Contract Law.
After obtaining his doctorate in business law (Dr. iur.), he worked as a trainee at the District Court of Hinwil and as a trainee lawyer at the law firm Bär & Karrer in Zurich.
After being admitted to the bar in the Canton of Zurich, he completed a master’s degree in American law (LL.M.) at Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.). He then worked as an associate for Townley & Updike in New York City.
After returning to Switzerland, he worked as an associate for the law firm Bär & Karrer in Zurich. He then worked as a member of the executive board at the Marc Rich Group in Zug, where he was responsible, among other things, for the real estate business in Russia.
He then founded the PHI Group, which managed real estate projects in Russia. Since the sale of this group in 2011, Peter Hanseler was in charge of Zürcher Immobilien AG until 2023. Since then, he is focusing on writing.
He speaks German, English and Russian and he spends a lot of time in the city he loves – Moscow. He is a passionate walker.
The US is not only morally, but also financially bankrupt—the real reason for Maduro's kidnapping is to refinance the American public finances.
Listening to Donald Trump's press conference following the attack and kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife, it quickly becomes clear that this is not about Maduro as a drug dealer, but about oil and therefore money.
We will not even attempt to legally assess the attack of the US on Venezuela at this point, because Trump is not only breaking international law with this act of robbery, but also American law. When asked by a journalist whether this military strike had been approved by Congress, Trump replied laconically that discussions had been held.
Even Friedrich Merz, who has experience as a criminal, see “What Russia could do,” calls the classification of the US action “complex”; in other words, he will welcome it sooner or later.
The Western media do not condemn the robbery in any way, but sell the action as the liberation of the Venezuelan people.
"We want peace, liberty and justice" — Donald Trump, January 3, 2026
The world is selling US bonds and America is running out of money – it's as simple as that. With the oil that the Americans want to steal, they will once again have assets with which to refinance ailing America. Trump was therefore forced to carry out this raid, because otherwise the empty coffers in Washington would blow up in his face. Being a businessman, he even found a way to make his friends in the oil business rich at the same time.
He was also able to rely on the corrupt military and business leaders in Venezuela – even Maduro's bodyguards abandoned him. The military, probably in consultation with the CIA, shut down its own air defenses to guarantee safe passage for the robber barons.
The parallels with Syria are obvious, with the difference that Assad smelled a rat and had himself flown out by the Russians.
Consequences
It is questionable whether the Americans will manage to bring the entire country under control. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez is putting on a combative front.
Trump seems to want to install his protégé Rubio as vice president in order to take over the country.
The Chinese and Russians will not intervene militarily under any circumstances. Rather, it is to be expected that the Chinese will take revenge by destroying COMEX; we will know more in the next few days. The gold and silver prices should be watched closely. The higher the prices of these precious metals, the worse the situation is for the US dollar and the American public finances.
We must hope that Venezuela will defend itself – by any means necessary.
What is certain is that the western world has turned its back on the rule of law. Trump is introducing the law of the jungle. How would Trump react if countries began to take all American citizens residing in those countries hostage?