Darren Jones said Britain needs to see the legal basis for operation that saw Venezuelan President Maduro captured.
Sir Keir Starmer’s top aide has told LBC the Government is waiting to see the legal justification for the US’ operation in Venezuela before casting its own judgement
The Government has insisted had no role to play in the events that led the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who were flown out of country following a series of airstrikes on the capital Caracas.
US President Donald Trump has said he will now “run” Venezuela, claiming an interim US administration will make the people of Venezuela “rich, independent and safe”.
Speaking on Sunday with Lewis Goodall, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones refused to condemn Mr Trump’s actions and remarks.
“We need to see the legal basis for the operation that was undertaken and what President Trump meant by his comments yesterday in terms of the administration, he told Lewis.
Mr Jones added: “It’s for the Americans to set out the basis of the legal basis on which they did the operation and then for international courts or the UN Security Council to take a view.
“This is the way the rules-based order works. It’s not for an individual state to judge international law.”
He insisted that the Government is “following the proper process that any government would follow”.
Mr Jones added that the Americans have so far insisted this was a “law enforcement measure against President Maduro.
He added: “We’ve not seen any more detail about the law enforcement rationale for their operation, and that’s what the American administration needs to publish.”
It comes as Priti Patel, who worked closely with US intelligence agencies during the Conservative’s time in power, insisted Britain should have expected America to act against Venezuela.
“We’ve been watching this for months,” Priti Patel said on Sunday with Lewis Goodall.
“The US and administration, direct attacks on drug ships and things of that nature, and also the basis of the national security strategy.”
‘Not an act of war’: inside America’s response to Trump’s Venezuela move
Sir Keir said yesterday he wanted ”to talk to the president” and Britain’s allies “to establish the facts.”
Footage of handcuffed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was released by US officials this morning.
In the clip, he is seen flanked by guards in detention in New York following his capture by an elite US military unit.
The operation followed months of pressure from Washington on the oil-rich South American nation.
At the end of the video, Maduro is seemingly heard saying “Happy New Year”.
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores is in New York to face American justice for “their campaign of deadly narco-terrorism against the United States and its citizens”, Mr Trump said.
Facing charges in the Southern District of New York, President Maduro is accused of a slew of drugs and weapons charges, including:
- narco-terrorism conspiracy
- cocaine importation conspiracy
- possession of machine guns and destructive devices
- and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the US
Described as a ‘brutal’ firefight by CIA sources, special forces entered Mr Maduro’s compound, Fort Tiuna, where the President was found alongside his wife, as the pair attempted to enter the steel panic room wearing just their pyjamas, according to reports.
“The force descended into Maduro’s compound and moved with speed, precision and discipline and isolated the area to ensure the safety and security of the ground force while apprehending the indicted persons,” General Caine revealed.
Maduro and his wife were then forced into a chopper, which had landed within the compound, before being ferried to New York aboard a US warship.
In the hours following the capture, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said of Maduro: ‘He f***ed around and found out.’
By Jacob Paul
