ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Demonstrators gathered outside Manhattan’s federal courthouse on Monday as reactions continued to pour in over the recent US military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan, where Maduro was processed, some protesters condemned the US operation as illegal.
“What the United States did by abducting President Nicolas Maduro is illegal by international law. You cannot have countries kidnapping leaders of sovereign nations just like that,” activist Gabriel Engel told Rudaw. He argued that US motives were driven by energy interests, adding, “What I think this is all about is the fact that Venezuela is a country that has the most oil of any country.”
Others welcomed Maduro’s detention.
“I am very excited to see Maduro there [in the court]. I think January 3 was the best day of my life,” said Marenes Su, a Venezuelan protester.
Another demonstrator, Wilfredo Briceno, reflected on Venezuela’s past, saying, “Venezuela used to be amazing back in the seventies and eighties. Everybody was having great opportunities. Now that it is over, now it is coming back.”
In the early hours of Saturday, US forces launched a major operation using air, land, and sea assets that culminated in the capture of Maduro and his wife in the capital, Caracas. US President Donald Trump later announced that the couple had been detained following a “large-scale strike,” saying the United States would “run” the country until a “proper and judicious transition” is achieved.
Trump said the interim administration would be overseen by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine for an unspecified period.
The operation has sparked widespread international reaction.
“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the possible intensification of instability in Venezuela, the potential impact on the region, and the precedent the US military operation may set for how relations between and among states are conducted,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said at a press briefing on Monday.
An emergency UN Security Council meeting was held the same day to address the situation.
“If a country, and particularly a country that is a permanent member of this council, disregards international law that we designed in San Francisco, what then is the role of this council and where are the foundations of international peace and security?” asked Colombia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Leonor Zalabata.
Russia’s Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, accused Washington of double standards, saying, “Those who in other circumstances froth at the mouth and demand that others respect the UN Charter, today seem particularly hypocritical and unseemly.”
China also strongly criticized the operation. “China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the unilateral, illegal, and bullying acts of the US,” said Sun Lei, China’s Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations.
The US defended its actions as lawful. “This was a law enforcement operation, in furtherance of lawful indictments that have existed for decades. The United States arrested a narcotrafficker who is now going to stand trial in the United States in accordance with the rule of law for the crimes he has committed against our people for 15 years,” said Michael Waltz, the US Ambassador to the United Nations.
Washington has repeatedly accused Maduro of presiding over a “narco-state” and manipulating elections. Maduro, who succeeded Hugo Chavez in 2013, has consistently rejected the allegations, maintaining that the United States seeks to seize control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, the largest in the world.
Namo Abdulla contributed to this report from New York.
