UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern about the potential for further instability in Venezuela following the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro.
The 15-member UN Security Council met at its headquarters in New York, hours before Maduro was due to appear in Manhattan federal court.
"I am deeply concerned about the potential for further instability in the country, its impact on the region and the precedent it could set in relations between States," Guterres said in a statement. The statement was presented to the council by UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told the council that the US had "carried out a surgically precise law enforcement operation, with military support, against two fugitives from US justice," referring to Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
"As Secretary of State, Marco Rubio has said, there is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying the country," Waltz stressed, presenting the US accusations against Maduro to the council.
"We will not allow the Western Hemisphere to become a base of operations for our country's adversaries," he added. "It is impossible to continue to keep the world's largest energy resources under the control of adversaries and illegitimate leaders of the United States without benefiting the Venezuelan people."
Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN Samuel Moncada described the US action in arresting Maduro as "an illegal armed attack without any legal justification." Moncada assured the council that Venezuelan institutions are functioning normally, the constitutional order is maintained, and the state is fully in control of its territory.
Guterres called on all parties in Venezuela to engage in inclusive, democratic dialogue, adding: "I welcome and stand ready to support all initiatives aimed at helping Venezuelans find a peaceful solution."
