Starmer treads carefully after US raid that seized Venezuela's leader

Keir Starmer has been seen hedging his bets after a late-night US raid in Venezuela that, the US president said, whisked the country’s leader out of the country. The raid followed weeks in which Donald Trump confirmed he had authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela against drug traffickers and had blockaded oil tankers, and the military campaign had been mounting.

When the raid occurred and Trump said the Venezuelan had been seized for “narco-terrorism”, the prime minister took 16 hours to respond publicly, saying: “We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime,” while reiterating support for international law.

The UK government's posture has been to “say as little as possible that might offend Trump”, leave it to the US to explain the legal justification, and, in the words of one aide, “recognise that it’s not our fight”. Labour’s progressive critics, including the Lib Dems and the Greens, have pressed for condemnation, and Emily Thornberry urged a stronger response.

Starmer’s spokesperson said that “comparisons between the developments over the weekend and the full scale invasion of a sovereign, democratic state is a bad comparison.” Other reactions have varied: the Reform UK leader suggested Trump had violated international law by capturing Maduro but added that “it may be a good thing” if it made Russia and China think twice.

Key Topics

World, Keir Starmer, Donald Trump, Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela, Cia