Geneva-The United Nations has expressed serious concern over the recent United States military operation in Venezuela, warning that it undermined a fundamental principle of international law.
“States must not threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.
Her remarks followed the dramatic operation in which Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were forcibly taken by US commandos in the early hours of Saturday. The operation reportedly involved airstrikes on Caracas, supported by warplanes and a significant naval deployment.
Shamdasani rejected Washington’s justification that the raid was warranted due to the Venezuelan government’s “longstanding and appalling human rights violations”.
“Accountability for human rights violations cannot be achieved through unilateral military intervention that violates international law,” she said.
She noted that the UN Human Rights Office has, for more than a decade, consistently documented the continued deterioration of the human rights situation in Venezuela.
“We fear that the current instability and further militarisation of the country resulting from the US intervention will only make the situation worse,” Shamdasani added.
The UN statement underscores growing international concern over the legal and humanitarian consequences of the US action in Venezuela.
