UN Condemns US raid in Venezuela, says operation breached international laws

The United Nations has expressed serious concern over a dramatic United States military operation in Venezuela, warning that the action violated core principles of international law.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva on Tuesday, Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the operation clearly undermined the rule that states must not threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another country.

Her remarks followed reports that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were forcibly seized by US commandos in the early hours of Saturday. The operation reportedly involved airstrikes on Caracas, supported by warplanes and a significant naval deployment.

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Shamdasani rejected Washington’s justification that the raid was necessary due to the Venezuelan government’s alleged long-standing and severe human rights abuses. She stressed that accountability for such violations cannot be pursued through unilateral military action that contravenes international law.

She further noted that the UN human rights office has, for over a decade, documented the steady deterioration of human rights conditions in Venezuela. However, she warned that the latest US intervention risks worsening the crisis.

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“We fear that the current instability and increased militarisation triggered by the US action will only deepen the suffering and further destabilise the country,” Shamdasani said.

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