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4d ago

UN Rebukes U.S. Over Venezuela Raid as Congress Seeks Answers

Critics call the operation a U.N. Charter violation, leaving U.S. intentions for Venezuela unclear.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz speaks at a Security Council meeting at the United Nations (UN) concerning the situation in Venezuela on January 5, 2026, in New York City.
Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavily armed Federal agents as they make their way into an armored car en route to a federal courthouse in Manhattan on January 5 in New York City. (Photo by XNY/Star Max/GC Images via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores appeared in Manhattan federal court after their capture and pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges.
  • At an emergency Security Council session, António Guterres and several U.S. allies said the raid breached the Charter, while the U.S. envoy described it as a surgical law-enforcement action.
  • Delcy Rodríguez, long-serving vice president under Maduro, was sworn in as interim president in Caracas.
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed top lawmakers after the fact, drawing bipartisan questions about legal authority, costs, next steps, and Trump’s claim the U.S. would temporarily “run” Venezuela.
  • Reports of earlier U.S. maritime strikes tied to pressure on Caracas—said to have killed more than 100 people—are fueling legal and diplomatic scrutiny of Washington’s broader strategy.