The US president announced on Saturday that the US armed forces had captured his counterpart Nicolas Maduro after launching a “wide-scale attack” against the Latin American country, with the capital Caracas rocked by a series of explosions.
Since the early hours of Sunday 3/1 (Greece time) he is in custody in New York and will be tried together with his wife for narco-terrorism.
The development sparked international reactions: Donald Trump found supporters for his decision, while opponents condemned the scene with Maduro bound and handcuffed.
The main international reactions
UN
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the “escalation” and the fact that “international law was not respected”, setting a “dangerous precedent”, calling on “all” sides in Venezuela to conduct “inclusive dialogue, with full respect for human rights and the rule of law”.
Colombia
President Gustavo Petro has ordered troops to be deployed to the border; he has denounced the US attack on Venezuela and the “sovereignty” of Latin American states, expressing concern that it could spark a larger humanitarian crisis.
“Global alarm, they attacked Venezuela”, he added, requesting an “immediate” convening of the competent bodies of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the UN to discuss “international legitimacy” after this “attack”.
Brazil
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva condemned the “serious violation of Venezuela’s national sovereignty”, considering that “the bombings (…) and the capture of its president exceed the limit of what is acceptable” and “threaten the preservation of the region as a zone of peace”, placing through X.
He called on the international community, through the United Nations, to “react strongly”.
Mexico
Mexico’s foreign ministry condemned the “unilateral” US bombing of Venezuela, warning that the operation put “regional stability at serious risk.”
Argentina
On the contrary, the American bombings were greeted with his usual slogan “freedom is moving forward, long live freedom, the devil” the president of Argentina Javier Millay, a great supporter of Donald Trump.
Equator
The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, also expressed satisfaction with the American attack, stressing that it is “the time of all the criminal narcochavists” and addressing the message to the figures of the opposition Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, as well as to the “people of Venezuela”, that “it is time to become owners of your country again”.
China
Beijing expressed “deep shock” and “strongly condemned” the “resort to violence by the US against a sovereign state and its action against its president”.
“This hegemonic behavior of the US grossly violates international law, deals a blow to Venezuela’s national sovereignty, and threatens peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean,” according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.
Russia
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the “act of military aggression against Venezuela” “deeply disturbing and condemnable”, also emphasizing that “ideological enmity triumphed over economic pragmatism”.
The government of Nicolas Maduro was considered Russia’s main ally in South America.
Iran
“The Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly condemns the US military attack against Venezuela and the flagrant violation of its national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said a press release from the Islamic Republic’s diplomacy, calling the US operation, an enemy of Tehran, targeting one of its key allies in Latin America “illegal”.
Turkey
The Turkish Foreign Ministry yesterday called on all members to exercise restraint to avoid “damaging consequences for regional and international security”.
EE
The European Union called for international law to be respected, while expressing its commitment to a democratic and peaceful transfer of power.
EU foreign policy chief Kaya Callas said she appealed for “restraint” during a conversation with State Department chief Marco Rubio.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared “solidarity with the Venezuelan people” and that she is in favor of a “peaceful and democratic transition”, adding that any solution must “respect international law and the United Nations Charter”.
Britain
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, after noting that all countries must “respect international law”, emphasized that London “did not participate” in the American operation.
He added that Britain “will not shed a single tear” over the end of the “Nicolas Maduro regime”, announcing talks with Washington “in the coming days” on the issue.
“The UK has long supported the transfer of power to Venezuela. We consider Maduro an illegitimate president and we will not shed tears for the end of his regime,” he noted.
France
President Emmanuel Macron called for a “peaceful” and “democratic” transition in Venezuela, saying that the “people” of Venezuela were “liberated” from the “dictatorship of Maduro”.
He called for the transition to be done in a way that respects the “will of the people” and to be the “fastest” since Edmundo González Urrutia, the right-wing candidate in the 2024 elections.
Spain
Madrid “will not recognize (…) an intervention that violates international law,” although it did not recognize “the Maduro regime” either, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.
American intervention could push the region into “uncertainty” and war adventures, the socialist politician added, calling for a “fair” transition “with dialogue”.
Germany
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz judged that Nicolas Maduro “led his country to destruction” and “played a problematic role in the region”, arguing that he “involved Venezuela in drug trafficking”. Germany, he recalled, did not recognize the result of the 2024 elections, which were “rigged”.
The German Foreign Ministry called on “all parties to refrain from anything that could worsen the situation and to look for a political solution”, pointing out that “international legal norms should be respected”.
Poland
“We will be given the opportunity to analyze the impact of this attack on the situation in our region. A development like the (…) American attack on Venezuela affects the whole world; we will react and prepare for this new situation,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during a press conference.
Italy
The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the American military operation “legal”, which according to her had a “defensive” character, while, at the same time, she emphasized that “external military action is not the way to end totalitarian regimes”.
Ukraine
Without specifically referring to the US operation, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibykha denounced the “large-scale crimes, violence, torture, oppression and violation of all fundamental freedoms” he attributed to the “Maduro regime” — Russia’s staunchest ally in Latin America.
South Africa
Johannesburg described the US military operation as a “flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter”, stressing that the “unilateral use of force” is “illegal” and “undermines the stability of the international order”.
Israel
Through Foreign Minister Gideon Shaar, Israel “welcomed the removal of the dictator who led a terrorist and drug network” and spoke of a “historic moment”, judging that Donald Trump acted as “the leader of the free world”.
