According to Dame Emily Thornberry, a Senior Labour MP in the UK, the military intervention in Venezuela violated international law and had to be categorically denounced by the UK.
After US strikes over the weekend resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, she is the highest-ranking Labour official to criticize President Donald Trump thus far.
Whether the US move was unlawful has not been declared by the UK authorities. Rather, it demands that the US provide the legal justification for its actions.
However, leaders of the Liberal Democrats, Green Party, and SNP, as well as Labour MPs, have denounced the strikes.
Dame Emily stated that the strikes were “not a legal action” and that she “cannot think of anything that could be a proper justification” while speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour.
“We cannot have breaches of international law like this,” she stated, urging the UK and its partners to adopt a firm stance. The law of the jungle is unacceptable.
“We denounce Putin for doing it,” she continued. It’s important to emphasize that Donald Trump shouldn’t be doing this either.
“People just are unable to do as they choose. We just cannot have an international state of anarchy.
Dame Emily cautioned that China and Russia might follow suit as a result of the US action.
“This growing idea that Trump, [Russian President] Putin, and [Chinese President] Xi should all have their spheres of influence and that other countries should not get involved and that they should be able to essentially do what they think is the right thing to do, what they want to do in the interests of their country, in the countries in the surrounding area,” the speaker stated.
“President Putin will probably say, ‘Well, what are you complaining about? Ukraine is within my sphere of influence.'” And Xi might say the same thing about Taiwan. It is really concerning and creates a bad precedent.
So yet, only a few Labour MPs have officially declared that the US violated international law. When the foreign secretary makes a statement in Parliament later, more criticism is anticipated.
The US strikes have not been criticized by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. His friendship with Donald Trump has become a key component of his foreign strategy.
He told the BBC that he wanted to hold off on determining whether the strikes were unlawful until all the facts were known. A “lifelong advocate of international law,” he added.
Maduro “was an evil, illegitimate dictator who tortured people,” according to Home Office Minister Mike Tapp, who also stated that Venezuela was “a safer place” now that he was out of office.
“A democratic, secure, and peaceful transfer of power is what we need to see right now,” he declared.
“As a country, we have made it very clear that we will always respect international law.”
Tapp reiterated that “it’s for the United States to lay out its legal basis for what it’s done” and described the situation as “complex.”
Before making a choice, he said, the UK would consult with the US and its allies.
The United Kingdom is scheduled to attend a meeting of the UN Security Council to address the US move.
The government should denounce the strikes, according to opposition parties. The US action has drawn criticism from the SNP, Greens, and Liberal Democrats.
Maduro is “a brutal and illegitimate dictator,” according to Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, who cautioned that “unlawful attacks like this make us all less safe.”
International law was violated, according to Zack Polanski, head of the Green Party. It is “absolutely essential that all nations act within the international rules-based system,” according to SNP leader John Swinney.
The Conservative Party stated that before evaluating the US move, it was crucial to wait for all the facts.
Alex Burghart, a shadow minister, stated that the US’s actions against Venezuela were “totally understandable.”
“Maduro had not been abiding by international law for a considerable amount of time, regardless of what international lawyers say about whether this was legal or not,” he stated.
The move was “unorthodox and contrary to international law,” according to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, but it would be beneficial if it caused China and Russia to “think twice.”
In a combined US military and law enforcement operation, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were removed from Caracas.
In New York, they are now charged with firearms and drugs. According to US officials, they profited from a violent group that brought cocaine into the country.
Maduro has refuted the allegations, claiming they are a pretext for his removal from office.
Until there is a “proper” handover of authority, Donald Trump has said that he will “run the country.” Delcy Rodriguez, the vice president of Venezuela, is anticipated to take over as acting president.
