UN Security Council to Meet After US Action in Venezuela

Eshioromeh Sebastian in Abuja

The United Nations Security Council will convene for an emergency meeting on Monday to address the U.S. military action in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, a move the U.N. chief has labeled a “dangerous precedent.”

The meeting, requested by Colombia with the backing of Russia and China, will bring the 15-member council together for the third time in recent months over escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas.

The session is set to be a diplomatic showdown. In a letter to the Security Council, Venezuela’s U.N. Ambassador Samuel Moncada condemned the U.S. operation as a “colonial war aimed at destroying our republican form of government and at imposing a puppet government.”

He accused the United States of a clear violation of the U.N. Charter’s prohibition on the use of force against a state’s territorial integrity.

The office of U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres echoed concerns about international law.

“The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the importance of full respect, by all, of international law, including the UN Charter,” spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement. “He’s deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected.”

The United States has defended its actions. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz stated on social media, “This is not regime change this is justice,” referring to Maduro as an “indicted, illegitimate dictator” leading a “Narco-terrorism organization.”

President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that Washington would run Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” though the specific plan for administration remains unclear.

The U.S. military engagement follows months of heightened pressure, including a naval blockade and the interception of Venezuelan oil tankers, which Washington previously justified under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter concerning self-defense.

The Security Council meeting on Monday will test the international response to an unprecedented intervention in the hemisphere, pitting the U.S. and its allies against critics who view the action as a breach of fundamental international norms.