The United Nations (UN) Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday on the U.S. operation against Venezuela, the council presidency said on Saturday.
"The presidency intends to hold the emergency meeting on Monday morning at 10:00 (1500 GMT)," said Khadija Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Somali Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Somalia holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of January.
After six months of threat and pressure tactics, the United States launched a military operation in Venezuela on Saturday and captured the country's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in Caracas.
In his response to the U.S. military intervention in the southern American country, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement which was issued by his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric that he is deeply alarmed by the escalation in Venezuela, culminating with the U.S. military action in the country, which has potential worrying implications for the region.
"Independently of the situation in Venezuela, these developments constitute a dangerous precedent," said the statement.
"The secretary-general continues to emphasize the importance of full respect -- by all -- of international law, including the UN Charter. He's deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected," the statement said.
The secretary-general calls on all actors in Venezuela to engage in inclusive dialogue, in full respect of human rights and the rule of law, it added.
Also on Saturday, the Permanent Mission of Venezuela to the United Nations sent a letter to Abukar Dahir Osman, president of the Security Council for January, condemning the "brutal, unjustified and unilateral" U.S. armed attacks against the South American nation. The letter also put forward four demands: an urgent Security Council meeting to discuss the U.S. aggression, a strong condemnation of the aggression against Venezuela, an immediate halt to U.S. military attacks, and measures to hold Washington accountable for its "crime of aggression."
The U.S. military forces bombed civilian and military sites in the capital of Caracas and other cities in the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira earlier on Saturday, and carried out attacks across the country with helicopters and airplanes, it said.
The letter noted that the attacks constituted a flagrant act of aggression that is premeditated, acknowledged and publicized by Washington, and that they "flagrantly" violated the UN Charter.
The U.S. attack was carried out against a country in full peace, it said, noting that it aims at toppling the current Venezuelan government and imposing a "puppet government" to plunder the country's oil resources.
Holding the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council is supported by Colombia, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, and Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Venezuela on Monday
UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Venezuela on Monday
