Trump does not want to occupy Venezuela, US tells UN meeting

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration does not want to occupy Venezuela, Washington’s envoy to the United Nations said on Jan 5, as the US faced intense criticism at a meeting to discuss the stunning special forces raid that

captured

now-toppled Venezuelan President

Nicolas Maduro

.

“We are not occupying a country, this was a law enforcement operation,” US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told an emergency meeting of the Security Council called to discuss the situation in Venezuela.

Mr Waltz defended the US raid, arguing that Mr Maduro was the head of a narco-terrorist group that floods the US with drugs and profited off the “misery” of both Americans and Venezuelans, arguing that the US was acting on a pre-existing indictment.

At the same time, Mr Waltz told the organisation that US President Donald Trump had tried other ways to get Mr Maduro to step down, calling him an illegitimate leader as well as a “fugitive from justice”. He reiterated the administration’s claim that the US military action was about the country’s vast oil resources.

“You cannot continue to have the largest energy reserves in the world under the control of adversaries of the US, under the control of illegitimate leaders,” Mr Waltz said. “President Trump gave diplomacy a chance. He offered Maduro multiple off-ramps.” 

Though US allies at the UN were mostly cautious in their remarks, Washington faced heat from a top UN official criticising the attack, saying it violated international law, could fuel instability in the region and sets a concerning precedent that could make violent conflicts more likely. 

“I remain deeply concerned that rules of international law have not been respected,” Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said, noting that she was speaking on behalf of Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

The UN’s political chief issued a broad critique of the US raid in Caracas on Jan 3 that culminated with the capture of Mr Maduro, who is now awaiting trial in New York. Her comments reflect the broad concern among Washington’s allies following the US military action, as well as Mr Trump’s fresh comments following the raid about

seizing Greenland

.

Venezuela’s envoy criticised the US action as a serious violation of international law and a blatant act of colonialism aimed at seizing his country’s strategic natural resources.

“Of particular seriousness is the kidnapping of the president of the republic,” Mr Samuel Reinaldo Moncada Acosta told the UN meeting, adding that it “constitutes a direct violation of an essential norm of the international legal order, namely the personal immunity of heads of state in office”.

The US raid was also predictably condemned by Venezuelan allies Russia and China.

Mr Vasily Nebenzya, Moscow’s envoy to the UN, said the assault on Caracas was a “harbinger of a turn back to the era of lawlessness and US domination by force”. He said the US did not try to hide that toppling Mr Maduro was motivated by a desire for “unbridled control” of Venezuela’s vast oil resources. 

China was “deeply shocked” by the “illegal and bullying” US actions, Beijing’s Chargé d’Affaires Sun Lei said. “No country can act as the world’s police,” he told the meeting. 

Some US allies, such as France and Denmark, emphasised the importance of following international law, but acknowledged the threat posed by Mr Maduro. 

At the same time, the UK focused on the harm Mr Maduro caused Venezuela, and emphasised securing a prosperous future for the country – with only a brief mention that countries should adhere to the UN charter. 

Argentina’s envoy Francisco Fabian Tropepi had some of the warmest words for the US action, calling Mr Trump’s move in Venezuela a “decisive step” that could help improve the country. BLOOMBERG