Updated 8 January 2025
After apparent months of planning, the USA acted unilaterally to arrest Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife. They have since appeared in a Manhattan court and have entered not guilty pleas to a number of charges including drug trafficking.
Those events led to the UK Home Secretary (Yvette Cooper MP) making a statement in the House of Commons. Cooper noted that successive UK governments have refused to recognise the government of Venezuela and she stated -
'We should be under no illusion as to the nature of the Maduro regime. A once functioning democracy has become a hub for very dangerous organised criminal gangs—corrupt links have involved Iran, with Hezbollah increasingly present in recent years, as well as malign support from Russia—and a regime that has facilitated illicit finance, sanctions evasion and organised criminal activity, including narcotics trafficking and illegal gold trading.'
"We have seen Maduro’s regime systematically dismantle democratic institutions, silencing dissent and weaponising state resources to maintain power through fear and corruption. The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into possible crimes against humanity, following reports of hundreds of extrajudicial killings, including at the hands of Venezuela’s security services and paramilitary groups under the regime’s command. UN investigators have repeatedly reported a pattern of arbitrary detentions, tortures and killings."
An interesting fact is that a large amount of gold (including Venezuelan gold) is held by the Bank of England. In 2021 the Supreme Court of the UK gave judgment in “Maduro Board” of the Central Bank of Venezuela v “Guaidó Board” of the Central Bank of Venezuela [2021] UKSC 57 and Press Summary.
Amongst other matters, the Supreme Court declared that courts within the UK are bound to accept statements made by the executive (i.e. UK government) that Mr Guaidó is recognised by HMG as the constitutional interim President of Venezuela and that Mr Maduro is not recognised by HMG as President of Venezuela for any purpose.
Another interesting issue relates to an oil tanker currently at sea and in the Atlantic Ocean. It is reported that the USA wishes to seize the tanker but to do so may bring about some unspecified reaction from Russia. It is also reported that US Forces are operating from bases in UK as part of their efforts regarding the tanker. It remains to be seen how this matter will develop.
A different matter is the threat by the US President to Greenland - a Danish territory. I see no legal justification for such threats let alone any action but here is another matter to watch closely. So far, the British government has said that it is a matter between the USA and Denmark. Cooper informed the House of Commons -
"The House will have seen recent comments from the United States and from Denmark regarding Greenland. Let me be very clear on the UK’s position: Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Our close European partners, our long-standing NATO allies and all our countries work closely together on security issues and will always do so. The future of Greenland is a matter for the Greenlanders and Danes, and no one else."
Links
Legal concerns surround US capture of Venezuels's Maduro
Moving Forward: ICC upholds investigation in Venezuela
Update:
Later on 7 January it was reported that the tanker had been seized - BBC News 7 January 2025. British Forces assisted in the seizure.
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