U.S. Intervention in Venezuela Draws Broad Criticism at U.N. Meeting

Time reports that at an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday the Trump Administration’s military intervention in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro drew condemnations from both U.S. allies and adversaries. French U.N. envoy Jay Dharmadhikari said the U.S.-led operation to seize Maduro “chips away at the very foundation of international order” and “runs counter to the principle of peace dispute resolution and runs counter to the principle of non-use of force.” U.N.

Secretary-General António Guterres said the U.S. had violated the U.N. charter, which requires members to “refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force,” and warned he was “deeply concerned about the possible intensification of instability in the country, the potential impact on the region, and the precedent it may set.” Denmark’s ambassador Christina Markus Lassen said “no state should seek to influence political outcomes in Venezuela through the use of threat of force or through other means inconsistent with international law.” Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia condemned the action, and Russia and China demanded the release of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

U.S. envoy Mike Waltz defended the operation as a “surgical law enforcement operation.” Iran and several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Nicaragua and Cuba, also requested to speak.

Key Topics

World, Un Security Council, Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, Antonio Guterres, Cilia Flores