The EU’s statement was supported by 26 of the bloc’s 27 member states, with Hungary the only country not to endorse it.
The European Union said on Jan. 4 that the right of Venezuelans to determine the future of their country “must be respected,” and called for the principles of international law to be upheld, following the U.S. raid on Caracas and capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
In a statement, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said Brussels believes that Maduro lacks the legitimacy of a democratically elected president and that the bloc has “advocated for a Venezuelan-led peaceful transition to democracy in the country, respectful of its sovereignty.”
Kallas said that while Brussels shares the priority of tackling international drug trafficking and organized crime, “the EU stresses that these challenges must be addressed through sustained cooperation in full respect of international law and the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
“Respecting the will of the Venezuelan people remains the only way for Venezuela to restore democracy and resolve the current crisis,” she wrote.
Kallas called for “calm and restraint by all actors” in order to avoid escalation.
She added that Brussels remains in close contact with the United States and other international partners.
In the early hours of Jan. 3, U.S. special operations troops captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, after which they were put aboard the USS Iwo Jima and transported to New York.
Both were indicted in federal court, with Maduro being charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States.
The operation was the U.S. military’s most significant action in Latin America since the invasion of Panama in 1989, when the U.S. government seized the country’s leader, Manuel Noriega, and brought him back to the United States on drug-trafficking charges.
The U.S. capture of Maduro—whose regime has been accused of committing human rights violations—sparked widespread celebrations by the Venezuelan diaspora, including those living in the United States.
Hungary Did Not Support Statement
The EU’s statement was supported by 26 of the bloc’s 27 member states, with Hungary, led by long-time Trump ally Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the only country not to endorse it.
Janos Boka, Hungary’s minister for EU affairs, criticized Brussels for its wording in the statement, saying it has “nothing to say about the situation.”
“In the new era of great power politics, it is unable to articulate its interests in the region,” Boka wrote in a Facebook post on Jan. 4.
“And due to the lack of means, it has not been able to become a meaningful player so far, and this is unlikely to change. Kaja [Kallas’s] statement is a sign of weakness and a complete misunderstanding of the transformation of international relations.”
He added that the Hungarian government was doing its job by ensuring the safety of its citizens in Venezuela and that it was closely monitoring events.
On Jan. 5, Orban said the Trump administration’s decision to topple Maduro should have a positive impact on the global energy market.
