World leaders expressed alarm and condemnation Sunday as the international community grappled with the extraordinary U.S. military operation that removed Venezuela’s president from power.
The UN Security Council meeting, requested by Colombia and backed by Russia and China, marks the third time the 15-member council has convened over escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela in recent months.
President Donald Trump announced Saturday that U.S. forces had successfully carried out what he called “a large scale strike against Venezuela” and captured Maduro along with his wife, Cilia Flores. The operation, named “Absolute Resolve,” involved approximately 150 aircraft launching from 20 different bases across the Western Hemisphere.
International reaction split sharply along ideological lines. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stated that the bombings and capture “cross an unacceptable line,” while Iran’s foreign ministry urged UN intervention against what it termed illegal U.S. aggression.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry denounced the action as “an act of armed aggression against Venezuela,” calling justifications for the operation untenable. Cuba’s government issued a statement declaring solidarity with Venezuela and describing the attack as a violation of international law and the UN Charter.
However, some conservative leaders in Latin America welcomed the development. Argentine President Javier Milei, a Trump ally, posted approval on social media, while Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa wrote that criminal elements of the Venezuelan government would be held accountable.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he wants to establish the facts and speak with Trump about the operation. “I always say and believe we should all uphold international law,” Starmer said, adding that Britain was not involved in the strike.
The Trump administration maintained that the operation targeted what it described as a narco-terrorist organization led by Maduro. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the mission was rehearsed for months.
Venezuelan officials reported casualties from the strikes, which hit Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, though official counts have not been released. One official told The New York Times that at least 40 people were killed in the operation.
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, whom Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered to assume acting presidential duties, demanded Maduro’s release and called him the country’s rightful leader. Trump had claimed Rodríguez would cooperate with the United States, but she made no mention of such cooperation in her televised address.
Trump said the United States would temporarily run Venezuela and indicated he was not ruling out deploying troops to the country. The operation marks the most aggressive U.S. military action in Latin America in decades.
