The UK government has said it is “not entirely clear” what it means for the United States to be in charge of Venezuela, following the US capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in Caracas. Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, urged a move towards a peaceful transition of power and said the UK would wait to determine whether international law had been breached.
Speaking on Sky News, Jones said the UK was “not in favour of colonialism” and that it was for the Americans and Venezuela to decide the next steps. He repeated assurances from Prime Minister Keir Starmer that the UK had no involvement and was not informed of the plan to strike the Venezuelan capital.
Starmer, who has said he wants to speak directly to US President Donald Trump before making any judgment, is likely to face an urgent question in the Commons on Monday. The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, criticised Starmer’s hesitancy, warning it would give Trump licence for hostile acts against other sovereign countries.
Human rights lawyer Philippe Sands KC described the US action as “manifestly illegal under international law” and said Starmer’s failure to condemn it “speaks volumes”. However, the deputy leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice, defended the operation, arguing it was in accordance with US domestic law and that comparisons with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were “chalk and cheese”.
