Representing Venezuela, Ambassador Samuel Moncada condemned the illegal and immoral armed attack by the US. Photo: UN.
Several nations warn that Washington’s unilateral use of force constitutes a flagrant violation of the UN Charter and sets an extremely dangerous precedent.
The military aggression carried out by the United States against Venezuela, and the kidnapping of constitutional President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, sparked an immediate and broad international reaction, with strong condemnations voiced during the emergency session of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Speakers were united in warning that Washington’s unilateral use of force constitutes a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, sets an extremely dangerous precedent for the international system, and threatens regional and global peace.
Watch UN Security Council session here.
Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, described the military assault and the subsequent abduction of the Venezuelan president and his wife as an unjustifiable crime that marks a return to the rule of force and global anarchy. Opening his remarks, he stated that “the beginning of this year has shocked all those who still believed in international law, non-interference, and diplomacy.”
Nebenzya denounced the United States’ attempt to position itself as a “supreme judge” with the right to invade countries and mete out punishment, deliberately ignoring international jurisdiction. He stressed that Venezuela is a sovereign state and that any dispute must be resolved exclusively through dialogue, not through bombings or the abductions of a heads of state.
The Russian diplomat demanded the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores while warning that the deaths of civilians during the military operation confirm the consequences of the selective application of the so-called “rules-based international order,” which, he said, has now revealed itself as a new order grounded in brute force.
China, for its part, told the Security Council that the United States had “deliberately trampled on Venezuela’s sovereignty,” ignoring the fundamental principles of the UN Charter. China’s Deputy Permanent Representative, Sun Lei, described the events of January 3 as “blatant unlawful incursions” and warned that the unilateral use of force by a permanent member of the UNSC undermines the very foundations of the multilateral system.
“No country can be the world’s police nor can any state proclaim itself an international judge,” Sun Lei said, while demanding guarantees for the safety of the Venezuelan president and his wife and their immediate release. China reiterated its support for the Venezuelan government and people and called for the preservation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace in accordance with what was established by CELAC in 2014.
In a forceful debut as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the 2026–2027 term, Colombia also condemned the US military aggression. Ambassador Leonor Zalabata described the bombings and aerial activity over Caracas as a direct violation of Venezuela’s territorial integrity and recalled that the use of force lacks any legal or moral basis.
Zalabata warned of the danger posed by a permanent member of the Council using its military power to impose political control over another nation, evoking the darkest periods of foreign intervention in Latin America. She also expressed concern over the humanitarian impact of the conflict and the potential increase in migratory flows, underscoring that civilians always bear the highest cost of external geopolitical ambitions.
Representing Venezuela, Ambassador Samuel Moncada explained that his country had been subjected to an illegitimate armed attack lacking any legal justification, including bombings, loss of human life, and the kidnapping of the sitting president—violating the personal immunity of heads of state, a cornerstone guarantee for the stability of the international system.
Moncada warned that if the Security Council fails to condemn these acts, its credibility and that of international law will be gravely compromised. He recalled that Washington’s actions fit the definition of aggression established in General Assembly Resolution 3314 and cautioned that normalizing such acts amounts to replacing law with force.
The Venezuelan diplomat stated that the true objective of the aggression is greed for the country’s energy and strategic resources, asserting that this logic harkens back to the worst practices of colonialism. He further reported that despite the aggression, Venezuelan institutions continue to function normally and that in accordance with the Constitution, Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has assumed the role of acting president to ensure continuity of the state.
The interventions converged in demanding that the United States immediately cease coercive actions, release the Venezuelan president, and return to diplomacy and full respect for international law, warning that this unilateral escalation risks unleashing a global crisis with unpredictable consequences.
US Attacks Venezuela & Abducts President In Illegal Operation
(TeleSUR)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/CB/SL
Cameron Baillie is an award-winning journalist, editor, and researcher. He won and was shortlisted for awards across Britain and Ireland. He is Editor-in-Chief of New Sociological Perspectives graduate journal and Commissioning Editor at The Student Intifada newsletter. He spent the first half of 2025 living, working, and writing in Ecuador. He does news translation and proofreading work with The Orinoco Tribune.
