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Demonstrators march in support of abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during a rally called by workers in Caracas on January 14, 2026.
(Photo by Pedro Mattey/AFP via Getty Images)
United Nations Experts Condemn Trump Assault on Venezuela as ‘Flagrant Violation of the UN Charter’
"Latin America is a zone of peace. The obligation to resolve conflicts peacefully and in accordance with international law must be respected."
Jan 16, 2026
A group of United Nations experts on Thursday condemned the Trump administration's deadly assault on Venezuela, abduction of its president, and efforts to control its government and natural resources as profound violations of international law that cannot be allowed to stand without accountability.
"It is gravely concerning that, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, this marks the second time in four years that a permanent member of the Security Council has carried out an armed attack in flagrant violation of the UN Charter," the experts, including around two dozen UN special rapporteurs, said in a joint statement.
The UN Charter prohibits "the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."
“The prohibition against violating national sovereignty through unprovoked armed attacks applies even in the context of serious human rights violations and restrictions on freedoms such as those documented in Venezuela,” the experts added. "Latin America is a zone of peace. The obligation to resolve conflicts peacefully and in accordance with international law must be respected."
Their statement came days after US President Donald Trump expressed contempt for international law in an interview with the New York Times, saying, "I don’t need international law."
Trump added that his "own morality" is "the only thing that can stop" him.
Top administration officials have been similarly dismissive of any legal restraints on the ability of the US to invade nations and seize their resources whenever it pleases.
“We’re a superpower, and under President Trump we are going to conduct ourselves as a superpower," top White House adviser Stephen Miller said in a CNN appearance last week. "It is absurd that we would allow a nation in our backyard to become the supplier of resources to our adversaries but not to us.”
Morris Tidball-Binz, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, said in a separate statement on Thursday that the Trump administration has engaged in "excessive and unlawful use of lethal force" at home and abroad, including in Venezuela and on the high seas.
“International law does not allow States to kill on the basis of labels, perceptions of how someone appears, or allegations of wrongdoing,” Tidball-Binz said. “Whether at sea, abroad, or at home, the use of lethal force must be strictly limited by the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, and precaution, and may be used only as a last resort to protect life.”
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A group of United Nations experts on Thursday condemned the Trump administration's deadly assault on Venezuela, abduction of its president, and efforts to control its government and natural resources as profound violations of international law that cannot be allowed to stand without accountability.
"It is gravely concerning that, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, this marks the second time in four years that a permanent member of the Security Council has carried out an armed attack in flagrant violation of the UN Charter," the experts, including around two dozen UN special rapporteurs, said in a joint statement.
The UN Charter prohibits "the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."
“The prohibition against violating national sovereignty through unprovoked armed attacks applies even in the context of serious human rights violations and restrictions on freedoms such as those documented in Venezuela,” the experts added. "Latin America is a zone of peace. The obligation to resolve conflicts peacefully and in accordance with international law must be respected."
Their statement came days after US President Donald Trump expressed contempt for international law in an interview with the New York Times, saying, "I don’t need international law."
Trump added that his "own morality" is "the only thing that can stop" him.
Top administration officials have been similarly dismissive of any legal restraints on the ability of the US to invade nations and seize their resources whenever it pleases.
“We’re a superpower, and under President Trump we are going to conduct ourselves as a superpower," top White House adviser Stephen Miller said in a CNN appearance last week. "It is absurd that we would allow a nation in our backyard to become the supplier of resources to our adversaries but not to us.”
Morris Tidball-Binz, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, said in a separate statement on Thursday that the Trump administration has engaged in "excessive and unlawful use of lethal force" at home and abroad, including in Venezuela and on the high seas.
“International law does not allow States to kill on the basis of labels, perceptions of how someone appears, or allegations of wrongdoing,” Tidball-Binz said. “Whether at sea, abroad, or at home, the use of lethal force must be strictly limited by the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, and precaution, and may be used only as a last resort to protect life.”
A group of United Nations experts on Thursday condemned the Trump administration's deadly assault on Venezuela, abduction of its president, and efforts to control its government and natural resources as profound violations of international law that cannot be allowed to stand without accountability.
"It is gravely concerning that, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, this marks the second time in four years that a permanent member of the Security Council has carried out an armed attack in flagrant violation of the UN Charter," the experts, including around two dozen UN special rapporteurs, said in a joint statement.
The UN Charter prohibits "the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."
“The prohibition against violating national sovereignty through unprovoked armed attacks applies even in the context of serious human rights violations and restrictions on freedoms such as those documented in Venezuela,” the experts added. "Latin America is a zone of peace. The obligation to resolve conflicts peacefully and in accordance with international law must be respected."
Their statement came days after US President Donald Trump expressed contempt for international law in an interview with the New York Times, saying, "I don’t need international law."
Trump added that his "own morality" is "the only thing that can stop" him.
Top administration officials have been similarly dismissive of any legal restraints on the ability of the US to invade nations and seize their resources whenever it pleases.
“We’re a superpower, and under President Trump we are going to conduct ourselves as a superpower," top White House adviser Stephen Miller said in a CNN appearance last week. "It is absurd that we would allow a nation in our backyard to become the supplier of resources to our adversaries but not to us.”
Morris Tidball-Binz, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, said in a separate statement on Thursday that the Trump administration has engaged in "excessive and unlawful use of lethal force" at home and abroad, including in Venezuela and on the high seas.
“International law does not allow States to kill on the basis of labels, perceptions of how someone appears, or allegations of wrongdoing,” Tidball-Binz said. “Whether at sea, abroad, or at home, the use of lethal force must be strictly limited by the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, and precaution, and may be used only as a last resort to protect life.”
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