The United Nations has condemned the recent United States military action in Venezuela, warning that the air strikes and seizure of the country’s leader represent a serious violation of international law.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva on Tuesday, Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN human rights office, said the operation undermined a core principle of the global legal order that prohibits states from using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another country.
“States must not threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state,” Shamdasani said, adding that the events in Venezuela run counter to this fundamental rule. She urged the international community to speak with a unified voice in rejecting actions that contravene international law.
US special forces, supported by air power and naval assets, carried out a dawn operation on Saturday that resulted in the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The couple were flown to the United States, where Maduro appeared in a New York court on Monday to deny drug trafficking and other charges brought by Washington. He told the court he had been kidnapped and insisted that he remains Venezuela’s legitimate president.
Maduro has been in power since 2013, succeeding former leader Hugo Chávez. Western governments, including the United States and the European Union, have long accused him of clinging to office through manipulated elections — most recently in 2024 — as well as suppressing political opponents and presiding over widespread corruption.
Despite years of criticism of Maduro’s human rights record, Shamdasani said the UN rejects the use of military force as a means of accountability. She stressed that alleged abuses cannot be addressed through unilateral armed intervention.
“Using human rights arguments as a justification for this kind of military intervention is unacceptable,” she said, warning that the US action is likely to worsen the already fragile situation in Venezuela rather than improve it.
She noted that Venezuelan authorities declared a state of emergency following the operation, granting sweeping powers to seize property, restrict movement and suspend the right to protest. According to the UN, these measures threaten to further erode civil liberties.
“Far from being a victory for human rights, this military intervention damages the international security framework and makes every country less safe,” Shamdasani said.
The UN human rights office has been operating from Panama since its international staff were expelled from Venezuela in early 2024, and has continued to monitor the deteriorating situation from abroad.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that even before the US action, nearly eight million Venezuelans — about a quarter of the population — were already in need of humanitarian assistance.
Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported that there were no immediate signs of large-scale displacement following Saturday’s events. Its spokesperson, Eujin Byun, said the agency was closely watching developments and stood ready to assist with emergency relief and the protection of displaced persons if required.
