ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Governments worldwide issued divided reactions on Saturday after the US carried out a military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, prompting calls from some Western leaders for an orderly political transition, while others condemned the move as a violation of international law and national sovereignty.
In the early hours of Saturday, US forces launched a major operation using air, land, and sea assets, culminating in the capture of Maduro and his wife in the capital, Caracas. US President Donald Trump announced later that day that Maduro and his wife had been detained following a “large-scale strike,” adding that the United States would “run” the country until a “proper and judicious transition” is achieved.
Trump said the interim administration would be overseen by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine for “a period of time” that he did not specify.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a statement that “the legal classification of the US operation is complex. We are taking time on this. In principle, the principles of international law must apply in dealings between states.” He added that political instability must be avoided and stressed the need “to ensure an orderly transition to a government legitimized by elections.”
Merz also said that “Nicolás Maduro has led his country to ruin. The last election was rigged. We therefore did not recognize the presidency - like many other states in the world.” The statement added that “Maduro played a problematic role in the region, with unholy alliances worldwide and through Venezuela's entanglement in the drug trade.”
China strongly condemned the operation. “China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the U.S.’s blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president,” the Chinese foreign ministry told Rudaw in a statement, warning that such actions “seriously violate international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region.”
“China firmly opposes it. We call on the U.