UN Countries line up to condemn 'unacceptable' operation

The US faced widespread condemnation yesterday for its "crime of aggression" in Venezuela at an emergency meeting of the UN security council.

- David Smith

Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Eritrea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Spain were among countries that denounced Donald Trump's decision to launch strikes on Venezuela and snatch its leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, to stand trial in the US.

"The bombings on Venezuelan territory and the capture of its president cross an unacceptable line," Sérgio França Danese, the Brazilian ambassador to the UN, told the meeting. "These acts constitute a very serious affront to the sovereignty of Venezuela and set an extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community.

Trump's UN ambassador, Mike Waltz, defended the attack as a legitimate "law enforcement" action to bring longstanding criminal indictments against an "illegitimate" leader, not an act of war.

The meeting in New York was convened hours before Maduro pleaded not guilty before a federal judge in Manhattan to charges including "narco-terrorism" conspiracy, cocaine importation and weapons trafficking - allegations he has long denied.