Dirco: US strikes in Venezuela a clear violation of UN Charter, global order at risk
View of a destroyed bus at La Carlota air base in Caracas on January 3, 2026. President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and his Venezuelan arch-foe.
Image: Juan Barreto / AFP
The South African government, alongside the International Human Rights Foundation (IHRF), has expressed grave concern over the recent United States military operation in Venezuela, which reportedly captured President Nicolas Maduro along with his wife and flew them out of the country.
The IHRF described the strike as “a catastrophic failure of diplomacy and a direct assault on the principles of global stability,” emphasising the humanitarian and legal consequences of the intervention.
In a statement, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) reiterated Pretoria’s legal objections.
“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,” said spokesperson Chrispin Phiri.
The IHRF highlighted the immediate danger to civilians. “Our primary priority is the immediate protection of the Venezuelan people. We express extreme alarm regarding the imminent threat to the right to life of the civilian population.”
The Foundation also condemned the operation as unlawful. “This military action represents a flagrant and grave rupture of International Law.”
DIRCO stressed that the UN Charter does not authorise external military intervention in matters that fall within the domestic jurisdiction of a sovereign nation.
Phiri reiterated South Africa’s call for multilateral action: “South Africa calls on UN Security, the body mandated to maintain international peace and security, to urgently convene to address this situation.”
The IHRF further demanded respect for Venezuelan democratic institutions and framed the US action in stark terms.
“We explicitly condemn these military operations as acts of international terrorism perpetrated by the United States of America,” it said.
It warned that unilateral force of this nature undermines the stability of the international order and the principle of equality among nations.
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