The decision by President Trump to invade — well, temporarily — Venezuela and extradite Nicolás Maduro to face trial in the United States faced immediate backlash.

After the action, many commentators, as well as administration officials, were speculating that the action against Venezuela could well prove to be a precursor to invasion of another country or overthrow of another dictator. To that, I say — to all, on both the left and the right, both pro and anti — whoa, guys. Hold your horses.

The United States of America — under any president, from either party — had the full legal right to launch a military operation to seize Maduro. Since Maduro had been indicted for violation of U.S. federal laws, the president of the United States had the authority to capture him without congressional approval.

One of the president’s responsibilities under Article II of the Constitution is to enforce federal laws. Trump — or any other president — could use military force to capture someone who’d already been indicted under those laws.

Back in 1989, under this very same pretext, President George H.W. Bush launched a full-scale invasion of Panama to capture Manuel Noriega. This wasn’t just a quick raid. We had boots on the ground and Noriega eventually surrendered to U.S. forces in the country.

It was not only the same legal rationale, the Panamanian operation was much longer, more costly, and Congress didn’t even blink. So, yes, the operation to capture Maduro was legal under U.S. law, even without congressional authorization, and that’s all that really matters here. Sure, it may not have been legal under international law, but good luck finding a way to prosecute a U.S. president under that authority.

The question is whether this operation signaled a new era of U.S. adventurism under Trump, at least in the Western Hemisphere. The answer to that question is, well, no, probably not.

For all the bold talk from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that officials in Havana, Cuba, should be nervous, there’s no legal grounds to invade, seize or extradite them. They may be bad guys, but they’re not under indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice. Invading Cuba and overthrowing the regime there would require approval from Congress. For all of his bold talk and disregard of the norms, President Trump knows that.

We’ve already seen the U.S. Senate pass a War Powers resolution limiting Trump’s authority to act further against Venezuela; our own U.S. senator, Susan Collins, voted for it. While Trump can veto it, he also reiterated after it passed that he had no further plans for additional military action in Venezuela, even as he condemned the Republicans who voted for it.

So, the whole thing was primarily a rhetorical exercise on behalf of both bodies. The Senate let Trump know that it was displeased, Trump returned the favor, and all is well.

Actions against any other country — whether in the Western Hemisphere or anywhere else — would be a different story. No other foreign leaders are currently under indictment by the United States, so Trump lacks Article II authority to seize them. The presidents of Colombia and Mexico may not be doing enough to combat the drug trade, but they haven’t been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice. Invading either nation would clearly take an act of Congress.

Now, Trump — just like many other presidents from both parties before him — can launch airstrikes without congressional authorization, or even much grumbling, but airstrikes aren’t an invasion. They’re clearly an act of war under international law, so any country subjected to them is legally authorized to retaliate, but we saw last year with the strikes against Iran that that’s also constrained by geopolitical realities. Sure, Iran could have hit us, but it lacks the means to do so in a meaningful way, just as Congress lacks the means to restrain a president’s military actions absent impeachment.

So, the capture of Maduro doesn’t set the stage for a new wave of adventurism abroad. Maduro was a limited target under indictment, and Trump didn’t capture any other officials or invade the country. Congress noticed that, and it expressed its disapproval anyway — and Trump noticed that, too.

Trump’s action against Maduro was clearly within the bounds of U.S. law, if not international law, and that’s what matters to us. Any further action elsewhere will be a different story.