Venezuela, Russia, China and political voices in the United Kingdom have called on the United States to release Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, after their capture in a US military operation over the weekend. At an emergency UN Security Council session in New York requested by Caracas, the Venezuelan government and its allies denounced the raid as a violation of the UN Charter and a dangerous precedent for the international order.
Russia told the Council that the US action signalled a return to an era of lawlessness and domination by force, accusing Washington of acting as a self appointed global judge for political and economic gain. China said no country could claim to be the world’s police or international judge and warned that using military force as a solution would only deepen crises and erode the rules based system.
Several countries and groupings, including Cuba, Iran, Colombia and members of the Non Aligned Movement, also branded the operation a clear breach of the UN Charter’s ban on the use of force. They insisted Maduro remains Venezuela’s legitimate president, described his seizure as kidnapping and said the immunity of a sitting head of state had been violated, undermining global norms on sovereignty.
In contrast, the United Kingdom government, a number of EU aligned states, Panama and Chile argued that neither Maduro’s presidency nor the US attack could be considered fully legitimate. They called instead for a peaceful, Venezuelan led transition to a democratic system, while emphasising the need to uphold international law and avoid further escalation.
Outside the UN, hundreds of protesters gathered near Downing Street in London, chanting “free Maduro” and listening to speeches by MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Richard Burgon. The lawmakers urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to stand up to US President Donald Trump and publicly condemn the military action, as Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper delivered a statement on Venezuela in the House of Commons.
The US has defended the operation as a surgical law enforcement action against a narco terrorist who, it argues, was no longer a legitimate head of state. Maduro and Flores were flown to the United States after the raid and appeared in a New York court on Monday on drug related charges, where both pleaded not guilty.
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