Extract from ABC News
Antonio Guterres delivered his remarks to the UN Security Council through a spokesperson. (Reuters: Brendan McDermid)
In short:
The UN Security Council has held an emergency session to discuss the US's capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Adversaries of the US slammed the operation to capture Mr Maduro, warning that it risked further destabilising the international order.
US ambassador Mike Waltz said the US had no intention of occupying Venezuela, characterising the operation as a "law enforcement operation".
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro could trigger greater instability in Venezuela and the wider region.
The warning by the UN chief was given during an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, just blocks from where Mr Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were facing a Manhattan judge.
Before the UN's most powerful body, both allies and adversaries blasted President Donald Trump's intervention and him signalling the possibility of expanding military action to countries like Colombia and Mexico over drug trafficking accusations.
In his statement, Mr Guterres warned that the US's capture of Mr Maduro could trigger greater instability in Venezuela and the wider region.
"I am deeply concerned about the possible intensification of instability in the country, the potential impact on the region, and the precedent it may set for how relations between and among states are conducted," he said in a statement delivered by UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo.
Captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro faced court in Manhattan on Monday, local time. (Reuters: Eduardo Munoz)
Mr Guterres called on all Venezuelan actors to engage in an inclusive and democratic dialogue, adding: "I welcome and am ready to support all efforts aimed at assisting Venezuelans in finding a peaceful way forward."
Colombia, backed by Russia and China, requested the meeting of the 15-member council, diplomats said, where representatives from all three countries condemned Saturday's US military operation.
US ambassador Mike Waltz hit back, saying the United States "successfully carried out a surgical law enforcement operation" against what he described as "two indicted fugitives of American justice".
"There is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country," he said.
Mr Waltz also argued the US's actions were legitimate on the basis that a previous UN report questioned the legitimacy of Mr Maduro's victory in Venezuela's 2024 presidential election.
"This was a law enforcement operation in furtherance of lawful indictments that have existed for decades," he said.
"The United States arrested a narco-trafficker who is now going to face trial in the United States in accordance with the rule of law for the crimes he has committed against our people for 15 years."
As one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United States, along with Russia, China, Britain and France, can veto any action.
Venezuela's allies condemn US capture
Addressing the Security Council, Venezuela's representative Samuel Moncada described Mr Maduro's capture as "an illegitimate armed attack lacking any legal justification" that constituted "a flagrant violation of the UN Charter".
Mr Moncada also accused the US of intervening because of Venezuela's oil reserves.
Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, called upon US leadership to "immediately release" Mr Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
"Any problems existing or conflict between the United States and Venezuela needs to be resolved through dialogue," he said.
China's deputy UN envoy Sun Lei said Beijing was "deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the unilateral, illegal, and bullying acts of the US".
Venezuela's UN ambassador Samuel Moncada called the US operation to capture Mr Maduro "an illegitimate armed attack lacking any legal justification."
Mr Moncada told the council that Venezuelan institutions were functioning normally, constitutional order had been preserved, and the state exercised effective control over all of its territory.
ABC/Reuters
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