US ambassador defends attack as ‘law enforcement’ action against an ‘illegitimate’ leader, not an act of war
The US has faced widespread condemnation for a “crime of aggression” in Venezuela at an emergency meeting of the United Nations security council.
Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Eritrea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Spain were among countries that on Monday denounced Donald Trump’s decision to launch deadly 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 execute long-standing criminal indictments against an “illegitimate” leader, not an act of war.
