Russia denounces ‘lawless’ US abduction of Maduro at UN Security Council: As it happened

Russia denounces ‘lawless’ US abduction of Maduro at UN Security Council: As it happened

RT

Beijing has asserted that Washington’s attack on Caracas flouts international law and the UN Charter.

Speaking at the UN Security Council, China’s Deputy Ambassador Sun Lei said that, as a permanent Council member, the US had violated the principles of sovereign equality, non-interference, peaceful dispute settlement, and prohibition of the use of force.

“These principles are the foundation of the UN Charter and international peace,” Sun said, accusing Washington of “placing power above multilateralism and military action above diplomacy,” while warning that the attack poses a serious threat to peace in Latin America, the Caribbean, and beyond. China “firmly opposes this,” he stressed.

A courtroom sketch has been released showing Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appearing before a judge in New York on Monday.

Both pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges. Maduro said he remains the legitimate president of Venezuela and described himself as “a prisoner of war.”

Anti-aircraft weapons were reportedly fired in downtown Caracas on Monday evening, as residents reported hearing heavy gunfire and explosions.

Citing Venezuelan sources, AFP said that security forces had opened fire in response to unidentified drones flying over the Miraflores presidential palace.

• 05 January 2026

  23:51 GMT

  French government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said President Emmanuel Macron does not approve of the method used to capture Nicolas Maduro.

  “We defend international law and the freedom of peoples. The method employed is neither supported nor approved,” she said on Monday.

  Macron had said earlier that the Venezuelan people “can only rejoice”that Maduro had been abducted during a US raid.

  Rallies in support of Maduro were held in Caracas and other Venezuelan cities, while members of the Venezuelan diaspora abroad staged demonstrations celebrating the raid.

23:13 GMT

At the UN Security Council, Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia condemned the abduction of Nicolas Maduro as “international banditry,”warning that it was pushing the world toward “an epoch of lawlessness.”He accused the US of pursuing “hegemonic ambitions” and seeking to pillage Venezuela’s natural resources.

US envoy Mike Waltz defended the raid as “a law enforcement operation” and labeled Maduro “a narcotrafficker.” He said Maduro’s rule was illegitimate, citing allegations of vote rigging. “He was not a head of state,” Waltz said.

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