Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, has accused the United States of carrying out an illegal armed attack against Venezuela, telling the UN Security Council that the events that transpired amounted to a flagrant violation of international law.
Addressing the council, Moncada said Venezuela was subjected to bombing, the destruction of civilian and essential infrastructure, the loss of civilian and military lives, and the “kidnapping” of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
He said the attack lacked any legal justification and violated the UN Charter’s prohibition on the use of force and the principle of sovereign equality of states.
Moncada argued that the seizure of a sitting head of state breached a core norm of international law, the personal immunity of leaders in office, warning that such actions set a dangerous precedent for all countries, regardless of size or power. He said this immunity is an institutional safeguard for state sovereignty, “not an individual privilege”.
Moncada said the bombing of another state’s territory and the exercise of effective control amount to acts of aggression and occupation, even without formal annexation or a permanent troop presence. He called on the Security Council to uphold international law “without double standards”, saying selective interpretations undermine multilateralism and the Council’s credibility.
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Russia also strongly condemned recent US military action against Venezuela, emphasizing that Washington’s actions marked a dangerous return to “lawlessness.”
Addressing the Security Council, Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia said: “The assault against the leader of Venezuela, compounded by the deaths of dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban citizens, in the eyes of many, has become a harbinger of a turn back to the era of lawlessness and US domination by force, chaos and lawlessness.”
Nebenzia’s remarks came at the emergency session of the council on Venezuela, following recent US military action against Venezuela that resulted in the capture of the country’s President, Nicolas Maduro.
“There is no, and can be no justification for the crime cynically perpetrated by the United States in Caracas, and we firmly condemn the US act of armed aggression against Venezuela in breach of all international legal norms,” he stressed.
He called on Washington to “immediately release the legitimately elected president of an independent state and his spouse,” noting that “any problems existing or conflicts between the United States and Venezuela need to be resolved through dialogue.”
Nebenzia said the US is openly pursuing control over Venezuela’s resources, and said Moscow was “particularly appalled by the unparalleled cynicism, which Washington did not even attempt to conceal the true aims of its criminal operation, namely the establishment of unbridled control over Venezuela’s natural resources, and the assertion of their hegemonic ambitions.”
“In this way, Washington is generating fresh momentum for neocolonialism and for imperialism,” he added.
Warning of broader consequences, Nebenzia said: “The bell is ringing for all UN member states and for the future of the organization itself,” adding that silence would amount to “essentially blessing ongoing encroachments of international law.”
“We cannot allow the United States to proclaim itself as some kind of a supreme judge,” he said.
The emergency session comes following the permanent mission of Venezuela’s official request, sent on Jan. 3, with support from China and Russia.
With agency reports
