UN Human Rights Office: US action in Venezuela makes world less safe

The UN Human Rights Office condemned the U.S. intervention in Venezuela, saying it undermines international law and global security. Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani warned the action sets a dangerous precedent for powerful nations.

Reuters

January 6, 2026

An activist holds a placard during a demonstration, after the U.S. struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Kathmandu, Nepal January 6, 2026.

Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

The world community must make clear that U.S. intervention in Venezuela is a violation of international law that makes states around the world less safe, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday.

"It sends a signal that the powerful can do whatever they like," chief spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, told reporters.

-Madeline Chambers/Reuters

"It sends a signal that the powerful can do whatever they like," chief spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, told reporters.

-Madeline Chambers/Reuters