Medvedev condemns US operation that toppled Maduro, saying it shattered international relations – Firstpost

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, sharply criticised the
United States over the operation that toppled former
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and brought him to the US. He said the episode had shattered international relations.

Medvedev made the comments in an interview with Reuters, TASS and the WarGonzo Russian war blogger at his residence outside Moscow. He described the move against Maduro as a violation of international law and said it broke “the whole system of international relations”.

In his remarks, Medvedev suggested that if US President Donald Trump were “stolen” by another power, the United States would certainly view that as an act of war.

Although Medvedev’s comments are among the most forceful from Moscow, official Russian reactions to the January operation involving airstrikes in Venezuela and Maduro’s transfer to the United States have been more muted overall. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a general condemnation of the military action and urged both Venezuela and the
United States to seek a diplomatic resolution.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke with Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela’s former vice-president and now acting President, on January 3, expressing Russia’s support for the Venezuelan people.

Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, criticised the operation as giving “new impetus to neocolonialism and imperialism”, language commonly used by Russian officials when criticising Western actions.

In his critique, Medvedev also praised Trump for protecting US interests and used the controversy to issue warnings to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reflecting his broader role in Russia’s information space and the Kremlin’s use of sharp rhetoric to influence global discourse.

Maduro was indicted by the US Justice Department in 2020 on drug and firearm charges. After the operation that removed him from Venezuela, he made his first court appearance in New York in January 2026, where he claimed he was “kidnapped”.

The issue of international law has also arisen, notably the principle that heads of state and other high-ranking officials have immunity from prosecution and civil penalties abroad — a protection affirmed by the International Court of Justice and previously recognised by Washington before the Maduro operation.