UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency session on Monday (today) amid mounting international alarm over United States military action in Venezuela and concerns that the crisis has now moved beyond bilateral tensions..

The meeting was requested by Colombia and supported by China and the Russian Federation, with Venezuela also formally appealing to the Council. According to the Council presidency, the session will be held under the agenda item “Threats to International Peace and Security,” and the secretary general is expected to brief the members.

Venezuela has sharply condemned the US action, describing it as a violation of sovereignty and an act of aggression.

In a letter to the Security Council, Venezuela’s UN ambassador Samuel Moncada wrote that the operation amounted to “a colonial war aimed at destroying our republican form of government, freely chosen by our people,” and at imposing “a puppet government that allows the plundering of our natural resources, including the world’s largest oil reserves.”

Moncada cited the UN Charter directly, recalling that it states: “All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.”

Beijing and Moscow echoed these concerns. Both countries have stressed that their objections are rooted not in support for Maduro personally, but in the defence of what they describe as core principles of international law.

The episode has revived debate regarding Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force without Council authorisation. Diplomats warn that normalising the unilateral removal of a sitting head of state could hollow out the principle of sovereign equality and destabilise the rules-based order.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2026