Episode Details

The United Nations Security Council's first meeting of 2026 heard a global chorus of UN member states strongly denounce the United States' strike in Venezuela as a grave violation of the UN Charter, although a US representative defended it as a "surgical law enforcement operation".

At Monday's emergency session, Sun Lei, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, urged Washington to heed the international community's "overwhelming voice", comply with international law and the UN Charter, halt actions that infringe on other countries' sovereignty and security, stop toppling Venezuela's government, and return to dialogue and negotiations as the path to a political solution.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, seized and brought to the US on Saturday after a large-scale US strike in the South American nation, pleaded not guilty in federal court in New York on Monday to charges of narco-terrorism. Crowds of protesters gathered outside the courthouse, many voicing opposition to the US action against Venezuela.

Sun expressed China's "deep shock" and strong condemnation of what he described as the "unilateral, illegal and bullying acts" of the US, and he called for Washington to ensure the safety of Maduro and his wife, and to release them immediately.

"The US has placed its own power above multilateralism and military actions above diplomatic efforts,"Sun said, warning that such actions pose a grave threat to peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean and even internationally.

He said the US military strikes "wantonly trampled" on Venezuela's sovereignty and violated core tenets of the UN Charter, including the principles of sovereign equality, noninterference in internal affairs, peaceful settlement of international disputes, and prohibition of the use of force in international relations.

"The lessons of history are a stark warning," Sun said, adding that military means are not the solution to international problems, and the indiscriminate use of force will only lead to greater crises.

He cited past US actions, such as bypassing the Security Council to launch military operations against Iraq, attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities, and the imposition of economic sanctions, military strikes and armed occupations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Those actions caused persistent conflict, instability and immense suffering for ordinary people, he said.

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