The removal and detention of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife was a “law enforcement surgery supported by the US military”, said Michael Walz, the United States representative to the UN. He said this during a UN Security Council meeting on events in Venezuela.
” Maduro is responsible for attacks on US citizens, destabilisation of the Western Hemisphere and illegal repression of the people of Venezuela. As Secretary Rubio stated, there is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying the country. This was a law enforcement operation to implement an indictment that has existed for decades, ” stressed the US diplomat.”
He added that Maduro will be tried by an American court in the United States under the rule of law for “the crimes he has committed for 15 years.” According to Volz, relevant evidence will be presented during the trial.
In addition, the US official called Venezuela’s ousted leader “an illegitimate so-called president,” adding:
“For years, Maduro and his henchmen have manipulated Venezuela’s electoral system to maintain illegitimate access to power.”
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s representative to the UN, Samuel Moncada, accused the United States of violating international law. He said international peace is only possible if international law is respected “without exceptions and without selective interpretations.”
“The events of 3 January constitute a flagrant violation of the UN Charter implemented by the US government, in particular the principle of the sovereign equality of countries and the total prohibition of the use or threat of use of force against the territorial integrity and political independence of each state,” Moncada said.
On the night of 3 January, US troops struck military installations in Venezuela’s capital Caracas and captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores. US authorities do not consider Maduro to be the legitimate president of Venezuela and accuse him and Flores of conspiring to engage in “narco-terrorism,” importing cocaine, and storing weapons and explosive devices for use against the US.
On the evening of January 3, they were taken to a detention centre in Brooklyn.
Maduro and Flores are scheduled to make their first appearance in federal court in New York City in January. There they will be formally informed of the charges against them.