US operation in Venezuela undermined international law, UN rights office argues

GENEVA, Switzerland — US airstrikes on Venezuela and the seizing of the country’s leader on the weekend clearly “undermined a fundamental principle of international law,” the United Nations argued Tuesday.

“States must not threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN rights office, told reporters in Geneva.

“And this is what we are seeing,” she said, calling on the international community to “come together with one voice… to make clear that this is an action that is in contravention of the international law that was set up by member states.”

US commandos backed by warplanes, the navy and airstrikes forcibly seized Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in the early hours of Saturday.

Maduro appeared in court in New York on Monday to deny drug trafficking and other charges brought by Washington, insisting he had been kidnapped and remains Venezuela’s president.

He became president in 2013 after taking over from his populist mentor Hugo Chavez.

The United States and European Union say Maduro stayed in power by rigging elections — most recently in 2024 — and imprisoning opponents, while overseeing rampant corruption.

‘Unacceptable’

Shamdasani said the UN rights office had spent years reporting on the “continued deterioration” in Venezuela.

But she dismissed US justifications for its actions, saying accountability for rights violations “cannot be achieved by unilateral military intervention in violation of international law.”

“Using human rights arguments as a justification for this kind of military intervention is unacceptable,” she said, adding that she feared the US intervention “will only make the situation worse.”

Shamdasani pointed out that a state of emergency declared by Venezuelan authorities on Saturday allows property seizures, restricts free movement, and suspends the right to protest, among other measures.

“Far from being a victory for human rights, this military intervention… damages the architecture of international security, making every country less safe,” she said.

The rights office has been monitoring from Panama since its international staff were expelled from Venezuela in early 2024.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump told NBC News the US was not at war with Venezuela but rather, “we’re at war with the people that sell drugs.”

The US would need to help address the South American country’s problems before any new elections, Trump said, calling a 30-day timeline for a vote unrealistic.

“We have to fix the country first. You can’t have an election. There’s no way the people could even vote,” Trump told NBC.

Trump has made no secret of wanting to share in Venezuela’s oil riches, telling reporters on Air Force One on Sunday that American oil companies will return to Venezuela and rebuild the sector’s infrastructure.

He told NBC on Monday that the US may subsidize the rebuilding of the country’s oil infrastructure by US companies, a project he said could be completed in less than 18 months.

UN refugee agency ready for possible mass displacement

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said nearly eight million people in Venezuela — a quarter of the population — needed humanitarian assistance even before the US operation.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR said it had yet to see signs of mass displacement since Saturday.

UNHCR spokeswoman Eujin Byun said the agency was closely monitoring the situation, adding that UN agencies were ready to “support emergency relief efforts and to protect displaced people in need as required.”