U.S. Military Seizes Venezuelan Leader Amid UN Outcry as Ambassador Waltz Defends Operation

By Fred Fleitz
Tuesday, January 6, 2026

At a so-called emergency session of the UN Security Council this week (January 5), there were expected condemnations of the U.S. operation to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife as violations of international law and the UN Charter.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz delivered a strong rebuttal to these complaints by explaining why President Trump could no longer tolerate threats posed to the United States and the Western Hemisphere by Maduro’s criminal regime. Brazil’s UN ambassador condemned the capture of Maduro as crossing “an unacceptable line.” The French ambassador stated the operation “chips away at the very foundation of international order.” Russia and China denounced the U.S. use of military force to apprehend Maduro as a violation of international law, with the Russian ambassador declaring, “There is no and can be no justification for the crimes cynically perpetrated by the United States against Venezuela.” China’s ambassador similarly accused the U.S. of placing “its own power above multilateralism and military actions above diplomatic efforts,” framing it as a grave threat to peace in Latin America and beyond.

These criticisms were baseless, given that the UN accepted Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader—despite 50 nations rejecting his legitimacy due to his stolen 2024 presidential election victory. The UN also failed to address Maduro and former president Hugo Chavez’s efforts to bankrupt Venezuela and transform it into a narco-terrorist state linked to U.S. adversaries including Russia, China, Iran, and Hezbollah.

Waltz emphasized that Maduro is an indicted drug trafficker and illegitimate so-called president, not a head of state. He detailed that Maduro leads the Foreign Terrorist Organization Cartel de los Soles—a group allied with criminal networks like Tren de Aragua—which conducts “irregular warfare and hostile actions against the United States,” including murders, kidnappings, extortions, and transnational trafficking. Waltz noted President Trump sought diplomatic resolution to compel Maduro’s exit but faced refusal from the Venezuelan leader.

The ambassador stressed that Americans reside in the Western Hemisphere and U.S. policy will not tolerate this region being exploited by Maduro’s regime for criminal activity or as a base for adversaries. The Security Council’s condemnations reflected “typical anti-American globalism” eroding UN credibility among many Americans, yet they carried little weight given the United States’ Security Council veto power over resolutions targeting the operation.

The meeting provided a critical platform for Waltz to outline the U.S. legal case against Maduro and assert that President Trump is safeguarding regional security by dismantling threats posed by an illegitimate regime.