US action in Venezuela sets ‘dangerous precedent’: UN chief

NEW YORK - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply alarmed by US military action in Venezuela that sets "a dangerous precedent," his spokesperson said on Jan 3 ahead of a likely UN Security Council meeting.

Venezuela and Colombia, backed by Russia and China, have asked for the 15-member Security Council to meet, diplomats said, after

the US attacked Venezuela and deposed its long-serving autocratic President Nicolas Maduro.

The meeting has not yet been scheduled.

"These developments constitute a dangerous precedent," Mr Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. "The Secretary-General continues to emphasise 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."

The UN Security Council has met twice - in October and December - over the escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela.

"The deadly and treacherous US military attack is being carried out against a country that is at peace," Venezuela's UN Ambassador Samuel Moncada wrote to the Security Council on Jan 3, warning that it "has serious implications for regional and international peace and security."

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."

US President Donald Trump's 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." REUTERS