UK lawmaker warns US action in Venezuela may embolden China, Russia
Emily Thornberry cautioned that the lack of strong Western condemnation of the intervention risks undermining international law and setting a dangerous precedent for global behavior.
Her comments came after US forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, with President Donald Trump stating that Washington would temporarily oversee Venezuela, including the potential use of US troops.
Speaking to Times Radio, Thornberry said, “There is no legal basis for this. And it sets a really bad precedent for countries such as China and Russia, who may also think: ‘Well, we’ve got spheres of influence, why can’t we do things like that within our sphere of influence, like Ukraine or Taiwan?’”
She warned that Western inaction could weaken global norms, stressing that even verbal criticism from allies can serve as an important deterrent. “To a certain extent, the force of international law is that people generally accept that this is the way that you should behave, and if you don’t behave in that way, then there is an international condemnation,” she said.
So far, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his frontbench team have not formally condemned the US action. Starmer told reporters Monday, “It is for the US to justify the action that it has taken. It is not straightforward. It is complicated.”
Thornberry emphasized that international criticism, even if symbolic, matters. “Although governments always say they don’t care, they do care. They do care a lot, and there just needs to be certain international norms,” she added.
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