Guterres expresses concern over US operation in Venezuela

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over the potential for widespread instability in Venezuela following the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro in the United States. He also expressed concern over the US military operation in the country. Guterres expressed his concerns at a meeting of the 15-member Security Council at UN headquarters in New York, hours before Maduro was due to appear in a Manhattan federal court on Monday (January 5).
The US has said at the meeting that it has no plans to take over the Latin American country. “I am deeply concerned about the potential escalation of instability in the country (Venezuela), its potential impact on the region and the precedent it could set for how relations between and among States are conducted,” Guterres said in a statement issued through UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the Security Council that the United States had conducted an armed law enforcement operation with the assistance of US forces against two individuals indicted on US charges. Reuters reported that the “two accused” referred to Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Waltz also said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said that there was no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying any country.
He added that “we will not allow the Western Hemisphere to be used as a base of operations for the adversaries of our nation. You cannot allow the world’s largest energy reserve to be controlled by adversaries of the United States, illegitimate leaders who are not defending the interests of the Venezuelan people.” Meanwhile, Venezuela’s UN Ambassador Samuel Moncada called the US operation to capture Maduro “an illegal armed invasion”. He said the operation had “no legal basis”.
Moncada told the Security Council that Venezuelan institutions are functioning normally, constitutional order is maintained, and the State maintains effective control over its entire territory. Guterres called on all Venezuelan parties to engage in an inclusive and democratic dialogue. At the meeting, convened at the request of Colombia, the UN Secretary-General expressed concern about the lack of due respect for international law in the US operation in Venezuela. The UN Charter states that members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the political independence and territorial integrity of any State. In response, the United States cited Article 51 of the UN Charter, which states that “the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense shall not be impaired.” At the meeting, Russia, China and Colombia condemned the US military operation as “illegal”. On the other hand, most Security Council members, including the United Kingdom and France, did not directly criticize the United States, but emphasized compliance with international law and the UN Charter.