UN chief Guterres raises concerns about instability in Venezuela, legality of US operation

US envoy says a US-backed surgical operation captured Maduro and his wife as indicted fugitives

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres raised concerns on Monday about growing instability in Venezuela following the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro, while the United States said it does not plan to occupy the Latin American country.

The 15-member Security Council met at UN 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.

“I am deeply concerned about the possible intensification of instability in the country, the potential impact on the region, and the precedent it may set for how relations between and among states are conducted,” Guterres said in a statement delivered to the council by UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo.

No occupation

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the Security Council the United States carried out “a surgical law enforcement operation facilitated by the US military against two indicted fugitives of American justice,” referring to Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

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“As Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, there is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country,” Waltz said, as he laid out Washington’s case against Maduro.

“We’re not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be used as a base of operation for our nation’s adversaries,” Waltz said. “You cannot continue to have the largest energy reserves in the world under the control of adversaries of the United States, under the control of illegitimate leaders, and not benefiting the people of Venezuela.”

Venezuela’s UN Ambassador Samuel Moncada called the US operation “an illegitimate armed attack lacking any legal justification.” He said Venezuelan institutions were functioning normally, constitutional order had been preserved, and the state retained effective control of its territory.

Guterres called on all Venezuelan actors to engage in inclusive and democratic dialogue, adding: “I welcome and am ready to support all efforts aimed at assisting Venezuelans in finding a peaceful way forward.”

International law

Guterres also expressed concern that the US operation in Caracas on Saturday did not respect international law. The UN 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 cited Article 51 of the UN Charter, which affirms the right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a member state.

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Russia, China and Colombia condemned the US military operation as illegal. Most other Security Council members avoided direct criticism of Washington, instead stressing the importance of adherence to international law and the UN Charter.

“Unintelligible murmurings and attempts to avoid principled assessments by those who in other circumstances froth at the mouth and demand that others respect the UN Charter today seem particularly hypocritical and unseemly,” Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said.

Colombia, which requested the meeting, said the US action violated Venezuela’s sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity. Russia, China and Venezuela called on the United States to release Maduro and his wife.

Any Security Council action is unlikely, as the United States holds veto power alongside Russia, China, Britain and France.