On Saturday, January 3, US military forces raided Venezuela, attacking its capital Caracas and capturing president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores. The move has sparked global outcry, with activists and international bodies warning that the US intervention undermines international law.

Maduro was seized from the capital in the early hours of Saturday morning, after nearly 200 US troops infiltrated the city. He was arraigned in New York on Monday, January 5, and faces a series of charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty and declared himself a prisoner of war.

According to reports, Trump failed to notify Congress before carrying out the attack and discussed his vision for Venezuela only a few hours after it took place. He said that Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as Maduro’s successor and is now cooperating with US officials.

In an interview with NBC News, the US president said that Venezuela will not have elections soon. “We have to fix the country first. You can’t have an election. There’s no way the people could even vote,” Trump said. “No, it’s going to take a period of time. We have — we have to nurse the country back to health.”

In recent comments, Trump also signalled the possibility of expanding military operations over drug-trafficking accusations to other countries in South America, including Mexico and Colombia.

In the meantime, the White House has also initiated talks with US oil firms on Venezuela’s reserves. Trump pledged to take control of the country and the Venezuelan oil infrastructure. “We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies – the biggest anywhere in the world – go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure,” he said during a press conference.

Following these actions, members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met for an emergency meeting on Monday, with several warning that the US military operations defy international law.

A spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, voiced deep concerns over the US’s use of force against a sovereign country, stating that it undermines “a fundamental principle of international law.”

“The US has justified its intervention on the grounds of the Venezuelan government’s longstanding and appalling human rights record, but accountability for human rights violations cannot be achieved by unilateral military intervention in violation of international law. The people of Venezuela deserve accountability through a fair, victim-centred process,” the spokesperson continued.

“We fear that the current instability and further militarisation in the country resulting from the US intervention will only make the situation worse.”

Protests have been taking place in several parts of the world, including the US and Ireland, with many condemning the Trump administration’s actions against Venezuela. During a demonstration in Grand Rapids, Michigan, an anti-war protester was arrested on camera while criticising the US assault on Venezuela. The video of the arrest went viral on social media, prompting many to voice concerns over the need to protect freedom of speech during Trump’s second term.