US faces strong condemnation at emergency UN Security Council meeting

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the ongoing situation in Venezuela, after the United States security forces launched a large-scale strike on the country on Saturday and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. The U.S. faced harsh criticism. According to the UN’s report on the meeting many members warned the strike risked “normalising unilateral force and eroding state sovereignty.” US Ambassador Michael Waltz rejected the claims, arguing that the strike was not an act of military aggression but a targeted law enforcement measure. “There is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country,” he said. “This was a law-enforcement operation in furtherance of lawful indictments that have existed for decades.” He highlighted Maduro’s disputed nature as a head of state following the fraudulent 2024 elections, said the measure was needed to combat narcotics trafficking and transnational organised crime and pointed to historical precedents, including the 1989 arrest of Panama’s former leader Manuel Noriega. Venezuelan Ambassador Samuel Moncada took an opposing stance, calling the strike an “illegitimate armed attack lacking any legal justification” and described the capture of Maduro as a “kidnapping.” “We cannot ignore a central element of this US aggression,” he said. “Venezuela is the victim of these attacks because of its natural resources.” Moncada urged that the U.S. ensure Maduro and his wife’s immediate release and safe return and that the UN “clearly and unequivocally” condemn the use of force against Venezuela. The strongest criticism for the U.S. came from Russia and China, who characterized the US action as armed aggression.  Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya described the intervention as “a turn back to the era of lawlessness” and claimed the U.S. cannot “proclaim itself as some kind of a supreme judge, which alone bears the right to invade any country, to label culprits, […] and to enforce punishments.” The U.S. also faced condemnation from most South American members, with Argentina and Paraguay emerging as the only who welcomed the strike as a path toward restoring democracy, the rule of law and human rights in Venezuela. The UN Security Council is formed by 5 permanent members —China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US—and 10 non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms, focusing on peace, security, and equitable geographic distribution, with specific regional quotas. The five permanent members also have the right to veto any resolution taken by the council. Cover Photo Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe