On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced worries about mounting instability in Venezuela following the U.S. capture of President Nicolás Maduro, though Washington emphasized it has no intention of occupying the Latin American nation.
The 15-member Security Council met at U.N. headquarters in New York just hours before Maduro was due to appear in a Manhattan federal court on drug charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy. Maduro has denied any criminal involvement.
No Occupation
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz told the Security Council U.S. carried out “a surgical law enforcement operation facilitated by the U.S. military against two indicted fugitives of American justice,” referring to Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
Venezuela’s U.N. Ambassador Samuel Moncada called the U.S. operation to capture Maduro “an illegitimate armed attack lacking any legal justification.” Moncada told the council that Venezuelan institutions are functioning normally, constitutional order has been preserved, and the state exercises effective control over all of its territory.
International Law
Guterres also expressed concern that the U.S. operation to capture Maduro in Caracas on Saturday did not respect the rules of international law. The U.N. Charter states that members “shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.”
The United States has cited Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, which says that nothing “shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a member of the United Nations.”
Russia, China and Colombia condemned the U.S. military operation as illegal. Most remaining council members did not directly criticize the United States and instead stated the importance of abiding by international law and the U.N. Charter.
Colombia, which requested Monday’s meeting, condemned the U.S. operation as a clear violation of the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of Venezuela. Russia, China and Venezuela called on the United States to release Maduro and his wife.
(With inputs from Reuters)
