NEW YORK: Pakistan on Monday expressed “profound concern” over the developments in Venezuela, warning that escalating tensions in the country posed risks to regional and international peace and security.
The statement was made at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) summoned to discuss the recent developments in Venezuela. This is also the first meeting for the year of the UNSC, with Somalia in the chair.
The US had launched a shock military operation in Venezuela on Saturday, with special forces capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a nighttime raid.
Pakistan’s Acting Permanent Representative Ambassador Usman Jadoon said in his address that at a time when the world was already facing multiple crises, instability in the region “does not augur well for regional and international peace and security”.
He reminded Council members that the UN Charter bound states to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, and to uphold sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
Ambassador Jadoon added that unilateral military action contravened these “sacrosanct principles” as well as the doctrine of sovereign immunity, warning that such actions set dangerous precedents and risked eroding the foundations of the global legal framework.
He cautioned that such actions also fuel instability, which, “as history has shown time and again, can lead to unpredictable and uncontrollable outcomes for years to come“.
Calling for de-escalation, the Pakistani envoy said that at this critical juncture, “the path forward must be one of dialogue and diplomacy,” stressing that durable solutions to political differences could only be achieved through peaceful means and with full respect for the will of the Venezuelan people, free from external interference.
He expressed hope that Latin America and the Caribbean, recognised as a ‘Zone of Peace’, would remain free from conflict and confrontation and continue moving towards enhanced regional cooperation and improved prosperity.
Pakistan urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint, de-escalate tensions, refrain from actions that could exacerbate the situation, and engage in dialogue, including by utilising sincere offers of mediation.
Jadoon noted that the offices of the secretary-general remained available for that purpose.
Concluding his remarks, he reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to contributing constructively to the Security Council’s primary responsibility for addressing threats to international peace and security by diffusing tensions, promoting pacific settlement and upholding respect for international law and the UN Charter.
“Peace and stability of Venezuela and the welfare and prosperity of its people, with full ownership, must be the overriding objective of all efforts,” he said.
UN chief concerned about instability in Venezuela, legality of US operation
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres raised concerns about a possible intensification of instability in Venezuela after Maduro’s capture.
“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,” Guterres said in a statement delivered to the council by UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo.
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.”
He also expressed concern that the US operation to capture Maduro in Caracas on Saturday did not respect the rules of international law.
Pakistan urges restraint, dialogue on Venezuela
‘Surgical law enforcement operation’
As UN officials and several UN diplomats sharply criticised Washington’s intervention in Venezuela, US Ambassador Michael G. Waltz defended the action before the Security Council as a justified “surgical law enforcement operation”.
“If the United Nations in this body confers legitimacy on an illegitimate narco-terrorist with the same treatment in this Charter as a democratically elected president or head of state, what kind of organisation is this?” Waltz asked.
The US envoy said Washington had acted to apprehend two indicted fugitives, naming President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, and insisted the operation did not constitute a war against Venezuela or its people.
He described Maduro as a fugitive and the leader of a “vicious foreign terrorist organisation”, alleging links to international drug trafficking networks that use “illegal narcotics as a weapon”.
Waltz compared the action to the 1989 US operation that led to the arrest of Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega.
Citing broader human rights concerns, the ambassador referred to allegations of extra-judicial killings, torture and arbitrary detentions in Venezuela, and said more than eight million Venezuelans had fled the country.
China’s representative said his country was “deeply shocked by, and strongly condemns” what he described as the United States’ “unilateral, illegal and bullying acts” against Venezuela.
He accused Washington of “wantonly trampling upon Venezuela’s sovereignty, security and legitimate rights and interests“, placing power above multilateralism and military action above diplomacy.
Warning of a grave threat to peace in Latin America and beyond, the Chinese envoy urged the United States to heed what he called the “overwhelming voice” of the international community and return to dialogue.
Russian Ambassador Vassily A. Nebenzia condemned the United States for what he called armed aggression against Venezuela in violation of international law, urging Washington to immediately release the “legitimately elected President” and his spouse.
Calling on Council members to abandon double standards, Mr Nebenzia warned against justifying “such an egregious act of aggression” out of fear of what he termed the “American global gendarme”.
He further accused the United States of seeking control over Venezuela’s natural resources, saying its actions were generating “fresh momentum for neocolonialism and imperialism”.
Following Maduro’s capture, US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Washington would govern Venezuela until a “safe, proper and judicious transition takes place”.
“We don‘t want to be involved with having somebody else get in and we have the same situation that we had for the last, long period of years,” the US president said. “So we’re going to run the country, until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. We’re going to run it, essentially.”
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