Foes, allies hit US over Maduro arrest

International

THE United States (US) came under intense diplomatic fire at the United Nations after its seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

The arrest triggered an emergency Security Council session marked by rare criticism from both rivals and long-standing allies.

While few defended Maduro’s record in office, many governments warned that Washington’s actions risk undermining the very international rules it claims to uphold, a report by BBC said.

Across the chamber, speakers repeatedly drew a distinction between condemning Maduro’s rule and rejecting the means used to remove him.

Several delegations said the US decision to act militarily crossed a legal red line, violating the UN Charter’s core principles on sovereignty and the prohibition on the use of force, even as they acknowledged widespread concern about repression and criminality in Venezuela.

France, of the US allies, emerged as the sharpest European critic. Its deputy ambassador told the Council the operation ran directly against peaceful dispute resolution and weakened the foundations of the international order.

He warned that when permanent members of the Security Council flout international law, they erode the credibility of the UN itself and damage global security.

Denmark echoed that stance, describing the seizure as a “dangerous precedent” and urging strict respect for international law.

Not all US partners followed suit. Britain and Greece stopped short of condemning the operation, instead calling for calm, dialogue and a peaceful transition.

Latin American voices were also prominent.

Panama cautioned against any transition that simply recycled figures from Maduro’s inner circle, warning that installing a successor tied to the existing power structure would amount to continuity, not change. Colombia went further, calling the US move an act of aggression with no legal justification.

Russia and China delivered predictably fierce rebukes. Moscow accused Washington of “international banditry” and neo-colonial behaviour, while Beijing said it was shocked by what it called unilateral and bullying conduct.

Both countries accused the US and its allies of double standards when it comes to respecting sovereignty.

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, struck a more measured but pointed tone, saying he was deeply troubled that international law appeared to have been ignored. In a statement read to the Council, he stressed that global stability depends on the rule of law prevailing over the law of power.(Xienderlyn Trinidad, USJ-R Comm Intern)