The United Nations voiced deep concern Tuesday over the dramatic US operation in Venezuela, warning that it clearly “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, spokeswoman for the UN rights office, told reporters in Geneva.
Her comments came after Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were forcibly taken by US commandos in the early hours of Saturday amid airstrikes on the Venezuelan capital backed by warplanes and a heavy naval deployment.
Shamdasani dismissed US justifications of the Venezuelan government’s “longstanding and appalling human rights violations” for the raid. (AFP)
