Russia, Iran, China Outraged At US ‘Flagrant Armed Aggression’ On Venezuela As EU Shrugs

The international reaction to America’s bombing campaign against Venezuela, during which time US special forces did a grab and nab of longtime President Nicolás Maduro has been predictably mixed.

• Global leftist leaders condemned a US attack in Venezuela that led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro in Caracas.

• Brazil, Russia, Colombia, Mexico, and Cuba rejected the US military action, with some calling for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

• US Democrats have raised questions over the legality of the strikes

While Europe has issued statements of placid acceptance – and also generally a ‘wait and see’ type approach – the reaction from BRICS countries and Washington rivals has been one of horror and swift condemnation.

First Russia: Moscow quickly condemned the blatant “act of armed aggression” against a sitting head of state and Russian ally, ​the Russian ‍Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “In the current situation, ‍it ⁠is important … to prevent further escalation and to focus on finding a way out ​of ‌the situation through dialogue,” the ministry added.

“The pretexts used to justify these actions are untenable,” Moscow stressed. “Russia reaffirms its solidarity with the Venezuelan people.”

“Venezuela ⁠must ​be ‍guaranteed ‍the ⁠right to ​determine ‌its ‌own ‌destiny ⁠without any destructive, ‌military intervention ‍from ‌outside.

“‍We ⁠reaffirm ​our ‍solidarity with ‍the Venezuelan ⁠people and our ​support ‌for its ‌leadership’s ‌policy ⁠of defending the ‌country’s national ‍interests and ‌sovereignty,” it added.

Second Iran: Tehran itself has been in Trump’s crosshairs this week against ongoing protests focused on economic hardship in the country, amid crippling US-led sanctions and coming off a recent, brief war with Israel.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote on X, “What’s important is when one realizes an enemy wants to force something on one’s govt. or nation with false claims, they must stand firmly against that enemy.”

At this moment, however, there have been scant signs of any real fight or resistance on the part of the Venezuelan Army, suggesting this could have had help from the inside, akin to a coup which had the support of the US.

“We won’t give in to them. With reliance on God & confidence in the people’s support, we’ll bring the enemy to its knees,” Iran’s top cleric added.

EU leadership shrugs after long lecturing the world on the so-called “rules-based order”…

Unreal that the EU can’t even as much as condemn such a textbook act of aggression, after spending the past 3 years lecturing the world on the need to defend the inviolability of these principles 🤷‍♂️

Ukraine set aside, think about the precedent this sets for Greenland… https://t.co/DHalVJfChC

— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) January 3, 2026

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs separately said it “strongly condemns the American military attack on Venezuela and the flagrant violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.”

As for China, we know what they think, given the timing is a hugely symbolic shot across Beijing’s bow by Trump:

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro received a Chinese government representative at the presidential palace in Caracas on Friday, hours before US President Donald Trump claimed Maduro had been captured following American military strikes.

Maduro met Qiu Xiaoqi, special representative of the Chinese government on Latin American affairs, at the Miraflores Palace.

“I had a pleasant meeting with Qiu Xiaoqi, Special Envoy of President Xi Jinping,” Maduro said on Telegram. “We reaffirmed our commitment to the strategic relationship that is progressing and strengthening in various areas for building a multipolar world of development and peace.”

Insane timing…

China went to meet with Maduro today to discuss joining forces, then Trump captures Maduro the same day.

Savage.

In fact, the Chinese delegation is still in Venezuela.

Trump captures Maduro and sends a powerful message to Xi and China at the same time.

Savage. pic.twitter.com/xpjOOidNp3

— Mila Joy (@Milajoy) January 3, 2026

Mexico’s reaction: “The Mexican government strongly condemns and rejects the military actions carried out unilaterally in recent hours by the armed forces of the United States of America against targets in the territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in clear violation of Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations,” according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Mexico emphatically reiterates that dialogue and negotiation are the only legitimate and effective means of resolving existing differences, and therefore reaffirms its willingness to support any efforts to facilitate dialogue, mediation, or accompaniment that contribute to preserving regional peace and avoiding confrontation.”

UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer shrugs, using an ambiguous and caution statement: “I want to establish the facts first. I want to speak to President Trump. I want to speak to allies. I can be absolutely clear that we were not involved … and I always say and believe we should all uphold international law,” Starmer said.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the strike in Venezuela was a “serious affront” to the country’s sovereignty.

The bombings on Venezuelan territory and the capture of its president cross an unacceptable line. These acts represent a most serious affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community,” he wrote on X.

” Attacking countries, in flagrant violation of international law, is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos, and instability, where the law of the strongest prevails over multilateralism.”

“The Government of Colombia rejects the aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote Saturday on X, translated from Spanish.

“Internal conflicts between peoples are resolved by those same peoples in peace. That is the principle of the self-determination of peoples, which forms the foundation of the United Nations system. I invite the Venezuelan people to find the paths of civil dialogue and their unity. Without sovereignty, there is no nation. Peace is the way, and dialogue between peoples is fundamental for national unity. Dialogue and more dialogue is our proposal,” he added.

He called on the United Nations to “respond vigorously” to the attacks.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, said the operation to capture Maduro was a “criminal attack,” adding that “our zone of peace is being brutally assaulted.” 

*  *  *

Domestically, responses fell as always along partisan lines.

The U.S. does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, and the legal implications of the strike under U.S. law were not immediately clear.

The Trump administration maintains that Maduro is not the legitimate leader of Venezuela and claims he has effectively turned Venezuela into a criminal enterprise at the service of drug traffickers and terrorist groups.

Mike Lee, a U.S. senator from Utah, said on X that the action “likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.”

But some Democrats were more critical.

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, said in a statement, “President Trump’s unauthorized military attack on Venezuela to arrest Maduro — however terrible he is — is a sickening return to a day when the United States asserted the right to dominate the internal political affairs of all nations in the Western Hemisphere.”

“This strike doesn’t represent strength. It’s not sound foreign policy,” said Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) in a post on X, who pointed to polling that shows broad voter disapproval towards armed conflict in Venezuela.

“Congress did not authorize this war. Venezuela posed no imminent threat to the United States,” said Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.).

Trump dismissed his congressional critics as “weak and stupid people.”

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a member of GOP leadership, said in a post on X that Maduro was an “illegitimate dictator” who “ran a vast drug-trafficking operation” and would now “face justice for his crimes against our citizens.”

“The interim government in Venezuela must now decide whether to continue the drug trafficking and colluding with adversaries like Iran and Cuba or whether to act like a normal nation and return to the civilized world. I urge them to choose wisely,” Cotton added.

As Jonathan Turley reports, this operation will be justified as executing the criminal warrant and responding to an international drug cartel, a very similar legal framework to the one used against Noriega in 1989. There is precedent supporting that earlier operation, which will now be used to defend the actions in Venezuela.

*  *  *

The capture of Nicolas Maduro is likely to have a significant impact across the region, with some leaders welcoming the intervention and others expressing concern over instability and potential migration.

Great powers make the rules up as they go – the US has a long history of it, doing it eg in Panama and Grenada but even more so under Trump. Russia and China ditto. Surely you don’t think this has a serious impact on China’s go/no go decision on Taiwan?

— Mark Urban (@MarkUrban01) January 3, 2026

This didn’t age well…

Trump talks tough on Venezuela, but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolas Maduro.

As President, I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy. https://t.co/eUt28UxyXS

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 22, 2020