UN chief Guterres raises concerns about instability in Venezuela, legality of US operation

Members of the UN Security Council meet on the U.S. strikes and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores at the United Nations building in New York, U.S., January 5, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

UNITED NATIONS, ‌Jan 5 (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio ‌Guterres raised concerns on Monday ‌about a possible intensification of instability in Venezuela after the U.S. capture of the Latin ‍American country’s president Nicolas ‍Maduro.

“I am deeply ‌concerned about the possible intensification of instability ‍in ​the country, the potential impact on the region, ⁠and the precedent it may set for ‌how relations between and among states are ⁠conducted,” ‍Guterres said in a statement delivered to the council by U.N. political ‍affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo.