Venezuelan Ambassador Samuel Moncada met this January 7, 2026, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in order to file a formal denounce against the United States.
The bilateral meeting has as it objective to document the unilateral and unjustified armed aggression against Venezuela’s sovereignty. During the meeting, the permanent representative to the United Nations detailed the events that occurred in the early morning of January 3, 2026.
Moncada denounced to the highest-ranking UN official a serious violation of international law by the US government. The denounce presented by the Venezuelan delegation emphasizes the unjustified nature of the American military action.
This operation constitutes a direct attack against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Ambassador Moncada maintained that this aggression represents a dangerous escalation in US foreign policy towards Latin America.
The meeting with Guterres seeks to activate the diplomatic and legal mechanisms available within the United Nations system to address this situation.
Following, the full text of the communiqué:
“AMBASSADOR SAMUEL MONCADA DENOUNCES BEFORE THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL THE AGGRESSION BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AGAINST VENEZUELA AND THE KIDNAPPING OF PRESIDENT NICOLÁS MADURO MOROS.
“In the morning hours of today, January 7, 2026, the Permanent Representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations, Ambassador Samuel Moncada, held a bilateral meeting with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, to denounce the unilateral and unjustified armed aggression perpetrated by the government of the United States of America in the early hours of January 3, 2026, against the Venezuelan sovereignty and territorial integrity.
During the meeting, Ambassador Moncada exposed in detail the events related to the armed attacks registered in the country’s capital city, Caracas, as well as in other cities in the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira. He explained that the aggression included the massive deployment of aircraft, combat helicopters, and special forces, in a progressive operation that dates back to at least August of 2025, when the accumulation of US military forces in the Caribbean began. He added that the attacks have caused tens of fatal victims and numerous injured people, both civilian and military, as well as significant damage to civilian, military, and vital infrastructure, including ports, airports, medical supply storage centers, homes, and telecommunications systems.
The Venezuelan diplomat stressed that these events constitute a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and the international law, classifying them as a crime of aggression, an act of war, a crime against peace, and a crime against humanity. Likewise, He denounced the kidnapping, through the use of military force, of the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, H.E. Mr. Nicolás Maduro Moros, and the First Lady, Dr. Cilia Flores de Maduro, which represents a clear violation of the immunities enjoyed by sitting Heads of State and which are recognized as such by both customary international law and rulings of international courts.
In regard to what has been the acting of the United Nations in promoting de-escalation and preventing aggression, the Permanent Representative of Venezuela to this multilateral forum regretted that the UN had not performed a more active role that condemns the threat and use of force by the government of the United States of America against Venezuela’s territorial integrity and political independence.
However, Ambassador Moncada stated that the Organization still has an important role to play, including assuming its role and authority in preserving diplomacy as a means of guaranteeing world peace, and to this end, he extended a formal invitation to the Secretary-General to visit Venezuela as soon as possible or, otherwise, if not possible due to prior schedule commitments, to appoint a Personal Envoy with the purpose of witnessing firsthand the consequences of the military attacks of January 3, 2026, the state of political and social peace and constitutional continuity in the country, as well as the full supply of food and medicines, all of which would contribute, in turn, both to strengthening existing cooperation with the United Nations System in development matters, as well as to gaining a better understanding of the nation’s reality and the challenges it faces as a result of the armed aggression.
For his part, the Secretary-General of the United Nations noted that the recent US military incursion into Venezuelan territory represented a flagrant violation of the UN Charter and the norms of international law. He also affirmed that it sets a dangerous precedent for international relations and that he had concerns about its repercussions on the Latin American and Caribbean region, including its declaration as a Zone of Peace. The Secretary-General emphasized Venezuela’s permanent sovereignty over its natural resources and that Venezuela’s oil belongs to the entire Venezuelan people. In relation to the invitation extended by the Venezuelan government to visit the country, he thanked the offer and expressed his commitment to consider it, while also offering his good offices to facilitate a national dialogue”.
New York, January 7, 2026
