GLOBAL STORM AS RAMAPHOSA, AKINYEMI CONDEMN TRUMP OVER MADURO’S “FORCED ABDUCTION
International outrage intensified on Tuesday as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, former Nigerian foreign affairs minister Bolaji Akinyemi, and prominent scholars accused the United States of trampling on international law following the forceful capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Maduro and Flores were apprehended by U.S. operatives on January 3 under the administration of Donald Trump and flown to the United States, where the Venezuelan president was arraigned in a New York federal court. He pleaded not guilty to sweeping charges, including narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking conspiracy, and illegal possession of heavy weapons.
In a sharply worded intervention, Ramaphosa declared that South Africa stood firmly with the Venezuelan people, condemning Washington’s move as a blatant assault on sovereignty. He warned that the operation struck at the heart of international law and violated the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter.
The South African leader further cautioned that unchecked unilateral actions could destabilise the global order, urging the United Nations Security Council to urgently step in and prevent a dangerous slide toward lawlessness in international relations.
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