UN Security Council to meet Monday over US action in Venezuela

The United Nations Security Council is due to meet tomorrow (5 January) after the United States (US) attacked Venezuela and deposed its long-serving autocratic President Nicolas Maduro, a move that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres views as setting "a dangerous precedent."

Colombia, backed by Russia and China, requested the meeting of the 15-member council, diplomats said. The UN Security Council has met twice - in October and December - over the escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela.

US President Donald Trump said yesterday (3 January) that Washington would run Venezuela "until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition." It is unclear how Trump plans to oversee Venezuela.

'A colonial war': Venezuela

"This is a colonial war aimed at destroying our republican form of government, freely chosen by our people, and at imposing a puppet government that allows the plundering of our natural resources, including the world's largest oil reserves," Venezuela's UN Ambassador Samuel Moncada wrote to the UN Security Council on Saturday.

He said the US had violated the founding UN 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."

The US military action overnight constitutes "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," Dujarric said.

The Trump administration has for months targeted suspected drug trafficking boats off the Venezuelan coast and the Pacific coast of Latin America. The US ramped up its military presence in the region and announced a blockade of all vessels subject to US sanctions, last month intercepting two tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude.

In October, the US justified its action as consistent with Article 51 of the founding UN 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," US Ambassador to the UN 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."