U.N. Struggles to Respond to Trump’s Attack on Venezuela

The United Nations is once again facing questions about its relevance and ability to shape global events in the wake of the January 3 US attack on Venezuela and the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores.

On Monday, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on the attack, shortly before Maduro and Flores appeared in federal court in Manhattan where they pleaded not guilty. Although the United States has faced severe criticism from a number of countries in the Council, the Council has been unable to take any steps to punish Washington for its actions. As one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the United States can veto resolutions and will undoubtedly block any such steps. The situation, similar to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has exposed the limitations that the international community faces when it comes to confronting unilateral military actions by powerful countries.

The United Nations is once again facing questions about its relevance and ability to shape global events in the wake of the January 3 US attack on Venezuela and the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores.

On Monday, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on the attack, shortly before Maduro and Flores appeared in federal court in Manhattan where they pleaded not guilty. Although the United States has faced severe criticism from a number of countries in the Council, the Council has been unable to take any steps to punish Washington for its actions. As one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the United States can veto resolutions and will undoubtedly block any such steps. The situation, similar to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has exposed the limitations that the international community faces when it comes to confronting unilateral military actions by powerful countries.

Although Maduro is widely viewed as an undemocratic and illegitimate leader responsible for promoting regional instability and the suffering of millions, as many governments have acknowledged in recent days in their reactions to the Venezuelan leader’s capture, a number of countries — and Democratic lawmakers in Washington — still denounce the US operation as a brazen and reckless move in violation of domestic and international law.

Along these lines, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, in a statement to the Council delivered by UN Head of Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo at the beginning of Monday’s meeting, that he was “deeply concerned by the lack of respect for the rules of international law” in relation to the US military operation on January 3. “The force of law must prevail,” he said, expressing concern about the uncertainty surrounding Venezuela’s future and the possibility that the country could deteriorate further. destabilizing.

Colombia, which neighbors Venezuela and is concerned about the possibility of a large influx of refugees due to US measures, has been particularly critical of the Trump administration as the situation develops. The country requested an emergency session of the Security Council on Monday.

“There is absolutely no justification, under any circumstances, for the unilateral use of force to commit an act of aggression,” Colombia’s UN Ambassador Leonor Zalapata told the Security Council on Monday. He added, “Such actions constitute a serious violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.”

Acknowledging the uncomfortable reality facing the United Nations, the Colombian ambassador also questioned the role of the Security Council when a country, especially a permanent member of the organization, ignores international law. “We accept that the law and the interests of the strongest will prevail over multilateralism and over the agreements we have concluded through dialogue and diplomacy in this very hall,” Zalpata warned.

Although the Trump administration maintains that the operation was legal, it occurred without authorization from the US congress or the UN Security Council. Critics also say the operation was launched without any clear and imminent threat to the United States.

The Trump administration has accused Maduro of being a “narco-terrorist” responsible for smuggling deadly drugs into the United States, but has offered little evidence to support the claims. Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, on Monday defended the US attack as a “law enforcement operation” and said that “overwhelming evidence” of Maduro’s crimes “will be presented publicly in US court proceedings.”

It was not surprising that the strongest criticism the United States faced during the emergency session on Monday came from its biggest opponents, China and Russia, which called on Washington to release Maduro and his wife.

Vasily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, said the US attack and Maduro’s arrest represented a “return to an era of chaos.” The conviction of the Russian ambassador to the United States came as his country continues to strike Ukraine with strikes as part of a war that the United Nations has also failed to prevent and is struggling to play any effective role in ending.

Washington’s allies on the council generally avoided criticizing the United States during the meeting, perhaps in an attempt to avoid Trump’s wrath. In recent days, Trump has made inflammatory comments toward friends and enemies alike, directing various threats to a wide range of countries, including Iran, Colombia, Cuba and Mexico. The president also alarmed the Danish government by reiterating his desire to annex Greenland, an autonomous region of Denmark.

Christina Markus Lassen, Denmark’s ambassador to the United Nations, issued a veiled rebuke to Trump in her comments to the council on Monday. Lassen said in statements that indicate the concern prevailing in the United Nations at the present time: “The inviolability of borders is not subject to negotiation.”

When asked at a press conference on Monday whether the United Nations was facing an identity crisis as it faces challenges ranging from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the unilateral attack on Venezuela by the United States, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General, said: “There is no identity crisis for the Secretary-General. Our identity is rooted in identity.” [U.N.] The Charter, in international law, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

But Dujarric said it was legitimate to ask member states how they “respect and support the laws and conventions that they themselves have put into effect,” adding that Guterres stressed that international law is not a selective list but constant.

“Member states created this organization to save future generations from the scourge of war,” Dujarric said. “We need member states to support this organization and its values ​​for the sake of future generations.”