Pretoria – South Africa has called on the UN Security Council to “urgently convene” to deal with the United States military strike against Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured from their home in Caracas by U.S. special forces and DEA agents early Saturday, 3 January 2026.
They were transported to the USS Iwo Jima warship before being flown to New York to face narcotics-related criminal charges.
Commenting for the first time on the matter, the government of South Africa said it notes with grave concern that the U.S. has conducted “a large-scale military strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicholas Maduro, who has been captured along with his wife and flown out of the country”.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation stated: “South Africa views these actions as a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations, which mandates that all Member States refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”.
Department spokesperson Chrispin Phiri explained that the Charter does not authorise external military intervention in matters that are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of a sovereign nation.
“History has repeatedly demonstrated that military invasions against sovereign states yield only instability and a deepening crisis,” said Phiri.
“Unlawful, unilateral force of this nature undermines the stability of the international order and the principle of equality among nations.
“South Africa calls on the UN Security Council, the body mandated to maintain international peace and security, to urgently convene to address this situation.”
Meanwhile, Trump has hailed the military operation that involved about 150 aircraft as a success, stating it ends Maduro’s “tyrannical regime” and paves the way for U.S. oversight of Venezuela during a transitional period.
The U.S. President said American interests would prioritise revitalising Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, the world’s largest.
He stated that U.S. oil companies would modernise ageing infrastructure and “get the oil flowing” to global markets.
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who assumed power following Maduro’s capture on Saturday, described Maduro’s capture as “barbaric” and “illegal”.
Rodriguez demanded the release of Maduro and his wife.
