Joseph A. Klein, CFP United Nations Columnist ——Bio and Archives--January 5, 2026

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The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on January 5, 2026 to discuss the United States military operation in Venezuela that occurred on January 3rd. The purpose of the successful, surgical mission was to extract Venezuela’s dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife to face U.S. justice for their alleged crimes involving illicit drugs and weapons trafficking.

In a statement kicking off the meeting, which Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo read on behalf of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General expressed deep concern that “rules of international law have not been respected with regard to the 3 January military action.” He said, “I have consistently stressed the imperative of full respect, by all, for international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, which provides the foundation for the maintenance of international peace and security.”

The meeting droned on for hours, featuring dueling narratives that pitted two principles enshrined in the UN Charter against each other.

Article 2 of the UN Charter focuses on principles of “sovereign equality,” the settlement of “international disputes by peaceful means,” and refraining in international relations “from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.” Secretary General Guterres relied on these principles of international law in criticizing the U.S. operation.

Article 51, on the other hand, enshrines the “inherent right of individual........

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