EU calls for restraint in Venezuela as Trump keeps transition plans vague

The European Union’s foreign policy chief has called for restraint in Venezuela following the weekend ousting of Nicolás Maduro, as the Trump administration remained unclear on its plans for the country’s future, according to a Euronews report.

Kaja Kallas issued a statement on Sunday night, urging “calm and restraint by all actors” and calling for respect of international law, after US forces captured Maduro in a military operation on Saturday.

Twenty-six of the EU’s 27 member states backed the statement, with only Hungary opting out.

“The EU recalls that under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be upheld,” the statement read.

“The EU calls for calm and restraint by all actors to avoid escalation and to ensure a peaceful solution to the crisis”.

Budapest, a close ally of President Donald Trump, declined to support the position. Trump called the operation that brought down Maduro “brilliant” and suggested the US would run Venezuela on an interim basis without specifying an end date.

The statement marked the EU’s closest approach to a unified position after a weekend of conflicting responses from European leaders.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez led the loudest criticism alongside Latin American countries, rejecting the attack as “in breach of international law”. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz took a more cautious line, saying the legal assessment behind the US intervention is “complex and requires careful consideration” whilst stressing the need for a democratic transition.

French President Emmanuel Macron did not comment on the details of the US Delta Force operation, but acknowledged the joy of the Venezuelan people after the ousting of Maduro and his “dictatorship”.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, seen as more ideologically aligned with Trump, backed the US government’s narrative, suggesting the intervention was “legitimate” against a state apparatus that promoted drug trafficking. She pointed to a legitimate “defensive intervention against hybrid attacks”.

US forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their fortified compound in Caracas on Saturday. The two are currently held at a New York prison facing US charges of narcoterrorism and drug trafficking.

At a press conference on Saturday, Trump said the US would run Venezuela on an interim basis without giving a deadline or details about practicalities on the ground, until a transition that is “safe, proper and judicious” can take hold.

He also suggested that María Corina Machado, the leading voice of the Venezuelan opposition and Maduro’s fiercest critic, would not be in a position to lead a transition government. Trump did not give a time horizon for an election to be held.

The running of the country remains largely in the hands of Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president turned de-facto leader. The Trump administration has insisted that she “will do whatever” the US asks of her, even as she struck a defiant tone on Saturday calling for Maduro to be released.

“What is being done to Venezuela is an atrocity that violates international law,” she said in a public address.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the US would make an assessment based on actions, not words. He told CBS News the US holds leverage on the country through sanctions and oil, and that Trump has not ruled out any scenario if the country fails to break ties with drug traffickers.

Rubio also said it is hard to signal a timeline for new elections, arguing that the Venezuelan opposition is largely outside of the country and shorter-term challenges have to be addressed first.

(information from Euronews)