US : claims that Maduro’s abduction is “law enforcement,” not war, although the majority of UN Security Council members condemn it
US : The United States has justified the abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro as “a law enforcement operation” and not a war, despite condemnation from both friends and enemies at the Security Council.
France and Britain, two US allies with permanent membership in the Council, offered moderate criticism of Washington from the standpoint of international law during the Council’s emergency meeting on Monday. China and Russia, the other two permanent members, attacked the United States and demanded that Maduro be freed right away.
“Venezuela and its citizens are not at war.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio was cited by US Permanent Representative Mike Walz. “We are not taking over a nation.”
He said, “This was a law enforcement operation,” in an attempt to refute claims that the US invasion of Venezuela violated international law and the UN Charter.
He said, “The United States has apprehended a drug dealer who will now be put on trial in the United States in accordance with the rule of law for the crimes he has committed against our people for 15 years.”
Maduro was arrested on Saturday from a guarded military installation in Venezuela, and his first court appearance to face narco-terrorism allegations in a US court south of the UN in Manhattan coincided with the Council meeting.
In response, Samuel Reinaldo Moncada, Venezuela’s Permanent Representative, said that the United States had “kidnapped a head of state.”
He said that the US’s “illegitimate armed attack,” which violated the UN Charter, was driven by its desire to seize the natural riches of his nation.
US President Donald Trump has so far left Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, in charge of the nation, expecting her to cooperate.
In addition to criticizing the US action, France, Britain, and a number of other nations condemned Maduro for allegedly violating human rights and winning an election via fraud.
However, Jay Dharmadhikari, France’s Deputy Permanent Representative, said, “The military operation that resulted in Nicolas Maduro’s capture violates the principles of peaceful settlement of disputes and non-use of force.”
James Kariuki, the Deputy Permanent Representative for Britain, said that permanent members’ breaches of the Charter “undermine the very foundations of the international order” without mentioning the US.
Beijing “is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns” what he described as “bullying acts” by the United States, according to China’s Deputy Permanent Representative Sun Lei.
Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s Permanent Representative, said that Maduro was “the legitimately elected” president of Venezuela and need to be freed right now.
He said that the US was providing “new momentum for imperialism and neocolonialism.”
Only Argentina and Trinidad unconditionally supported the United States.
Trinidad’s permanent representative, Neil Parsan, expressed the greatest support for the US, saying his nation is “steadfast in its support of the United States of America’s initiatives that strengthen regional security.”
He said that Trinidad is “committed to cooperative efforts led by the United States to disrupt and dismantle networks” of Maduro and accused Venezuela, his country’s neighbor, of operating “networks that enable transnational crime across the Americas” and undermining regional security and stability.
Francisco Tropepi, Argentina’s Permanent Representative, described the US move as “decisive” in tackling the drug trafficking issues in the area.
He said that Maduro had “put peace, freedom, and democracy in Latin America at risk.”
The other Latin American delegates were clearly very troubled by Maduro’s arrest and Trump’s threat to take action against others.
“He’s not going to be doing it very long,” he declared on Sunday, accusing Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia, of drug trafficking.
In response to a query from a reporter, he said that a military campaign against Colombia “sounds good to me.”
“Democracy cannot be defended or promoted through violence and coercion, and it cannot be superseded, either, by economic interests,” said Leonor Zalabata Torres, Colombia’s Permanent Representative, denouncing the US action as one of the “worst interference” in the area.
When the Charter is broken, the Council has a “obligation to act decisively and without double standards,” according to Hector Enrique Vasconcelos, the permanent representative of another nation that Trump said he wanted “something to do about.”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “deeply concerned about the possible intensification of instability in the country, the potential impact on the region,” according to Rosemary DiCarlo, who had earlier informed the Council on his behalf.
She cautioned that it may potentially set a precedent for “how relations between and among States are conducted.”