UNITED NATIONS, Jan 3 (Reuters) – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply alarmed by U.S. military action in Venezuela that sets “a dangerous precedent,” his spokesperson said on Saturday ahead of a likely U.N. Security Council meeting.
Venezuela and Colombia, backed by Russia and China, have asked for the 15-member Security Council to meet, diplomats said, after the U.S. attacked Venezuela and deposed its long-serving autocratic President Nicolas Maduro. The meeting has not yet been scheduled.
“These developments constitute a dangerous precedent,” Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. “The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the importance of full respect – by all – of international law, including the UN Charter. He’s deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected.”
The U.N. Security Council has met twice – in October and December – over the escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela.
“The deadly and treacherous U.S. military attack is being carried out against a country that is at peace,” Venezuela’s U.N. Ambassador Samuel Moncada wrote to the Security Council on Saturday, warning that it “has serious implications for regional and international peace and security.”
He said the U.S. had violated the founding U.N. Charter, which states: “All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has for months targeted suspected drug trafficking boats off the Venezuelan coast and the Pacific coast of Latin America. The U.S. ramped up its military presence in the region and announced a blockade of all vessels subject to U.S. sanctions, last month intercepting two tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude.
In October, the U.S. justified its action as consistent with Article 51 of the founding U.N. Charter, which requires the Security Council to be immediately informed of any action states take in self-defense against armed attack.
“This is not regime change this is justice,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz posted on X on Saturday. “Maduro was an indicted, illegitimate dictator that led a declared Narco-terrorism organization responsible for killing American citizens.”
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Rod Nickel)
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