South Africa urges UN to act after US operation in Venezuela

The South African government has called on the United Nations Security Council to convene urgently over the involvement of the United States in large-scale military operation in Venezuela, resulting in the capture of the country's President Nicolas Maduro along with his wife.

In a press statement issued by the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation on Saturday, South Africa called on the body charged with maintaining international peace and security to take note of the unlawful invasion of a sovereign state, cautioning that the unilateral force could deepen the crisis.

"Unlawful, unilateral force of this nature undermines the stability of the international order and the principle of equality among nations," the statement stated.

He pointed out that South Africa views the actions by the US as a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations, which mandates that all member states refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.

"Furthermore, the Charter does not authorize external military intervention in matters that are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of a sovereign nation," the statement added.