Brazil Condemns Armed Intervention in Venezuela at UN Security Council

Overview

• Brazil’s UN ambassador, Sérgio Danese, told the Council that U.S. bombings in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro cross an unacceptable line and breach international law.
• Danese cited the UN Charter’s prohibition on the use of force against a state’s territorial integrity or political independence except in narrowly defined circumstances.
• Brazil called on the Security Council to assume responsibility and act so that force does not prevail over legal norms.
• Though not a Council member, Brazil obtained permission to speak to oppose the U.S. action and to reject claims that ends justify means.
• The ambassador warned that legitimizing such interventions would fuel violence and erode multilateralism, and he dismissed control of natural resources as a justification, referencing Trump’s remarks about Venezuelan oil.