BATON ROUGE -- Since U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro in a military operation Saturday, many politicians and citizens across Louisiana have been sharing their thoughts. Supporters call it a win for democracy, while critics call it an illegal operation.

WBRZ spoke with political analyst James Hartman, who warns that a dangerous precedent could be set from this operation.

"The precedent now that we can indict someone in a U.S. court and then actually invade a sovereign nation to execute a warrant based on that indictment is rather alarming. There are indictments pending right now against Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu. Does this justify someone invading Moscow or Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to arrest, abduct, or kidnap those global leaders?" Hartman asked.

Hartman says that other countries could see this as an example to further their own political and military agendas.

"Can China now say, well, our government, our courts have adjudicated that Taiwan rightfully belongs to us, and they might have a case there, and so we're taking it back with our military might, regardless of what anyone has to say about it?" Hartman said.

The move has raised questions about the legality of the arrest, specifically whether a military action like this requires congressional approval.

"Any president requires congressional approval or congressional action to declare war, but the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and it's not at all unprecedented for any president to use the military to execute legal, justified military strikes or actions," Hartman said.

Hartman told WBRZ that he's noticing a pattern in the three countries where the U.S. has recently taken military action.

"Venezuela, Nigeria, and Iran are all significant sources of petroleum around the world, and those are the three countries that this administration has targeted militarily and diplomatically and made threats against, and now we've seen at least one of those threats carried out," Hartman said.

Comparisons have been raised between the Maduro operation and Operation Just Cause, which was conducted by the United States in Panama from 1989 to 1990 with the goal of deposing the de facto ruler of the country, Manuel Noriega, who faced U.S. drug trafficking laws.

"There are valid comparisons there, but there are also a lot of differences, and that also was conducted with international support and also in a far more strategic way to minimize destruction and minimize military force," Hartman said.

Hartman told WBRZ it seems oxymoronic to take this kind of action against an oil-rich nation in South America, saying there are plenty of other worthy targets if the country has humanitarian goals.

"It's a slippery slope, and this is why international law and the rules of war exist to prevent these kinds of explosive situations. The powder keg is fully loaded right now, and the United States is the one throwing matches more than anybody," Hartman said.