IPNEWS: Liberia has warned the UN that the arrest and detention of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, threatens regional and global security. The pair were captured by U.S. forces in Caracas on January 3, 2026, and subsequently flown to New York to face narco-terrorism charges, to which they have pleaded not guilty.
Liberia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Lewis Brown, speaking on behalf of the A3 group (Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia), stated that the actions raise serious questions about national and regional stability and are a “clear violation of the UN Charter” and international law.
Ambassador Brown emphasized that the situation in Venezuela, if unresolved, could have wider implications for regional and international peace and security, urging for de-escalation and a political solution.
The U.S. action has been widely condemned by many countries, including Russia, China, and the African Union, who argue it sets a “dangerous precedent” and risks normalizing the use of unilateral force.
Maduro and Flores were arraigned in a New York federal court on January 5, 2026, where they both pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges and are currently being held in a Brooklyn detention center. Delcy Rodríguez, formerly the Vice President, has been sworn in as the interim President of Venezuela.
Meanwhile, On Monday, January 5, 2026, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency session to address a major U.S. military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Many nations, including U.S. allies such as France and Spain, as well as adversaries like Russia and China, criticized the operation as a violation of international law and Venezuelan sovereignty.
U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz defended the action as a “surgical law enforcement operation” intended to execute standing criminal indictments for narco-terrorism, rather than an act of war or regime change.
Secretary-General António Guterres expressed “deep concern” that international law was not respected and warned that the military action sets a “dangerous precedent” for global relations.
Following the capture, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim leader; she has indicated a willingness to cooperate with the U.S. while describing Maduro as a “hostage”.
The military operation, which occurred on January 3, 2026, involved strikes in and around Caracas. Following their capture, Maduro and Flores were transported to New York, where they appeared in federal court on January 5 to plead not guilty to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges.
President Donald Trump stated that the U.S. would temporarily oversee Venezuela during a transition period, a move the Venezuelan UN Ambassador Samuel Moncada described as a “colonial war” aimed at seizing the country’s oil reserves.
