The spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Ravina Shamdasani, said this Tuesday (6) that the capture of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro by the United States makes the world “less safe”.
According to a statement from the OHCHR, Shamdasani made the comments during press statements in Geneva.
She stated that the United States’ action made “all states around the world less safe” and that the Maduro regime’s “long and deplorable history” of human rights violations does not serve as a justification for the operation.
“Accountability for human rights violations cannot be achieved through unilateral military intervention in violation of international law,” the spokeswoman claimed.
“Far from being a victory for human rights, this military intervention, which goes against Venezuelan sovereignty and the UN Charter, harms the architecture of international security,” added Shamdasani.
The spokeswoman said the High Commissioner’s position is that the Donald Trump administration’s military operation “violates the fundamental principle of international law and the UN Charter, which establishes that States shall not threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State.”
Regarding the crimes against humanity committed by the Chavista dictatorship, Shamdasani stated that the rights of the Venezuelan people “have been violated for a long time” and that “the people of Venezuela deserve accountability [dos perpetradores] through a fair and victim-centered process.”
Despite criticism of the United States, Shamdasani said that the OHCHR is “open” to talking to the Trump administration about reestablishing the agency’s office in Venezuela, from where it was expelled in February 2024.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Venezuela in a United States military operation on Saturday (3) and on Monday (5) they pleaded not guilty to the charges they face in American federal justice, at a hearing in a New York court.
Maduro is charged with conspiracy to commit narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and explosive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and explosive devices.
Flores is accused of conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and explosive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and explosive devices.
