Venezuela condemns US "armed aggression” in talks with UN chief PHOTO

In the morning of January 7, 2026, the Permanent Representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations, Ambassador Samuel Moncada, held a bilateral meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto made the announcement on his Telegram channel, Caliber.Az reports.

The purpose of the meeting was to convey information about what was described as a “unilateral and unjustified armed aggression” carried out by the government of the United States in the early hours of January 3, 2026.

According to Moncada, the US actions were directed against Venezuela’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and were accompanied by the abduction of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro Moros.

US forces conducted a major military operation early on January 3 that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas. Maduro was transported to the United States and has since appeared in federal court in New York, where he faces criminal charges, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. 

The raid involved coordinated aerial and special forces actions in the Venezuelan capital.

The operation has unleashed intense international controversy. The United Nations’ human rights office said the intervention “undermined a fundamental principle of international law” and could destabilise the region, while several governments, including those of Russia, China and various Latin American states, condemned the action as a breach of Venezuelan sovereignty.

By Khagan Isayev