Ambassador Waltz's Rebuttal of UN Condemnations of Maduro Capture Brilliant
At a so-called emergency session of the UN Security Council this week (Jan. 5), there were the expected condemnations of the U.S. operation to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife as violations of international law and the UN Charter.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz gave a strong rebuttal to these complaints by explaining why President Trump could no longer tolerate the threats posed to the United States and the Western Hemisphere by Maduro's criminal regime.
Brazil's UN ambassador condemned the capture of Maduro as crossing "an unacceptable line." The French ambassador said the operation "chips away at the very foundation of international order."
Russia and China were apoplectic that the U.S. use of military force to apprehend Maduro violated international law. The Russian ambassador said, "There is no and can be no justification for the crimes cynically perpetrated by the United States against Venezuela."
China's ambassador said, "The U.S. has placed its own power above multilateralism and military actions above diplomatic efforts, posing a grave threat to peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean and even internationally."
These criticisms were absurd, given that the UN accepted Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate leader, even though 50 nations do not, because Maduro stole the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election.
The UN also did nothing in response to efforts by Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, to bankrupt Venezuela and turn it into a narco-terrorist state and a nexus for U.S. adversaries like Russia, China, Iran, and Hezbollah.
It was also rich to hear Russia and China complain about the U.S. violating international law to arrest an indicted narco-terrorist in light of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine and China's escalating military threats to Taiwan that are probably preparations for a future invasion.
Ambassador Waltz did an excellent job countering the criticisms of the US operation by stressing that the United States is not at war with Venezuela and that this was a "surgical law enforcement operation facilitated by the U.S. military against two indicted fugitives of American justice."
He made clear that Maduro is an indicted drug trafficker and an illegitimate so-called president, not a head of state.
Waltz explained that Maduro was a fugitive from justice and the head of a vicious Foreign Terrorist Organization, Cartel de los Soles.
He noted that Cartel de los Soles has allied with other criminal Venezuelan organizations, notably Tren de Aragua, to conduct "irregular warfare and hostile actions against the United States," including “murders, kidnappings, extortions, and human, drug, and weapons trafficking."
Waltz also stressed that President Trump attempted to use diplomacy with Maduro to arrange his exit and stop the regime’s narcoterrorism, but Maduro refused.
Waltz's bottom line was that Americans live in the Western Hemisphere and the U.S. will not tolerate our backyard being used to promote the Maduro regime’s criminal activity or to be a "base of operation for our nation’s adversaries, competitors, and rivals of the United States."
The angry condemnations in the Security Council of the US operation to apprehend Maduro reflected the typical anti-American globalism that has eroded the credibility of the United Nations for many Americans.
But these attacks didn't matter because the United States could use its Security Council veto to block any resolution against the Maduro operation.
Nevertheless, the Security Council meeting had some value for international security because it gave our ambassador to the United Nations a global platform to state the compelling U.S. case for the operation to remove Maduro from power.
Ambassador Waltz also sent a message to the world that President Trump is asserting American power to promote security and stability in the Western Hemisphere and to stop it from being used by U.S. adversaries to undermine our security and interests.
Fred Fleitz is Vice Chair of the America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Security. He previously served as National Security Council chief of staff, CIA analyst, and a House Intelligence Committee staff member — Read Fred Fleitz's reports — Click Here Now.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.