U.S. Launches Armed Attack on Venezuela, President Maduro Abducted — Russia Levels Strong Accusations at UN Security Council
New York, January 5, 2026 — Speaking at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Venezuela, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, accused the United States of carrying out an armed attack on Venezuela. He described the action as a serious violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.
According to Nebenzya, it has been confirmed that Venezuela’s democratically elected President Nicolás Maduro and his wife are currently under U.S. custody. He urged the U.S. leadership to immediately and unconditionally release the Maduro couple. “The abduction of the legitimate president of an independent and sovereign state is unacceptable,” he said.
He emphasized that any disputes and disagreements between the United States and Venezuela must be resolved through dialogue. “This is the path prescribed by the United Nations Charter, yet in recent years some countries have been applying the Charter selectively, according to their political interests,” Nebenzya remarked.
The Russian representative expressed firm solidarity with the Venezuelan people and voiced full support for the Bolivarian government’s policy of defending national interests and sovereignty. He noted that the United States’ aggressive actions have drawn widespread international criticism, adding that the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, and a group of friendly states committed to defending the UN Charter have already condemned the move.
He sharply criticized certain countries that, in other contexts, aggressively demand strict compliance with international law, but are now retreating from making a clear assessment. “Such behavior appears hypocritical and inconsistent,” he said.
Nebenzya further accused Washington of not even attempting to conceal the real objectives behind its military operation. According to him, U.S. ambitions to seize control of Venezuela’s natural resources and expand its dominance in Latin America are the root causes of the attack. “This has given new momentum to neocolonialism and imperialism, which the peoples of this region and the broader Global South have repeatedly rejected,” he warned.
In conclusion, he issued a grave warning: “The alarm bells ringing today in Latin America are meant for all countries of the Western Hemisphere. They are also a warning for all UN member states and for the future of the world organization itself.” He cautioned that if the international community ignores this situation, it will lead to an even more serious erosion of international law and civilized international relations in the future.
Russia has urged the United States not to attempt to act as the ‘supreme judge of the world,’ making it clear that no country has the right to arbitrarily intervene in another state, declare it guilty, and impose punishment.
