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The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to convene an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the recent military operation and capture of the deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife by the United States.
According to the Council presidency, the meeting is scheduled for 10 am (local time) under the agenda of "Threats to international peace and security". "The presidency intends to hold the emergency meeting on Monday morning at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT)," said the spokeswoman for the Somali Permanent Mission to the UN, Khadija Ahmed, as quoted by Xinhua. Somalia is currently serving as the rotating president of the 15-member UN Security Council, comprising five permanent and 10 non-permanent members, for the month of January. Colombian President Gustavo Petro was the first to call for an emergency UN session after the US strikes on Venezuela, during which Washington captured Maduro and his wife on Saturday and removed them from the country. "As members of the United Nations Security Council, we seek to convene the Council. The Government of Colombia rejects the aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America. Internal conflicts between people are resolved by those same people in peace. That is the principle of the self-determination of peoples, which forms the foundation of the United Nations system," Petro said in a post on X. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump stated that Washington had carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela" and that the deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and taken out of the country. Trump also posted a photograph on Truth Social showing Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after his capture. Video footage later released by the White House-affiliated Rapid Response showed Maduro in handcuffs during a staged perp walk. In the footage, he was seen wishing law enforcement authorities "Happy New Year" and "Good Night" as he was led into custody. Following the attack, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep alarm over the situation in Venezuela, warning that the developments could have profound implications for the wider region. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, Guterres said that, irrespective of the situation in Venezuela, such actions set a dangerous precedent and underscored the need for full respect for international law by all parties, including adherence to the UN Charter. Meanwhile, developments in Caracas followed swiftly after Maduro's removal. Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of the acting president, according to CNN. The order, announced late Saturday night (local time), concluded that Maduro is in a "material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions." (ANI)
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