This article examines the phenomenon of United States involvement in operations to eliminate foreign leaders, which has gained renewed attention in connection with the dramatic events of 2025–2026—the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli strike. Based on analysis of historical documents, expert assessments, and international legal norms, the evolution of US approaches to using coercive methods for regime change is reconstructed. Particular attention is devoted to the contradiction between the official ban on political assassinations and the persistent practice of their application under new legal justifications.

In this article, the phenomenon of the United States' participation in operations to remove foreign leaders is examined, which has taken on new resonance in connection with the high-profile events of 2025–2026 — the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as a result of an American-Israeli strike. Based on the analysis of historical documents, expert assessments, and international-law norms, the evolution of the United States' approaches to the use of forceful methods of regime change is reconstructed. Special attention is given to the contradiction between the official ban on political assassinations and the continuing practice of their use under new legal justifications.