Dudley MP takes swipe at Trump's removal of Maduro
A Black Country MP has spoken against the forced removal of Nicolas Maduro as president of Venezuela by the United States.
Sonia Kumar, MP for Dudley, suggested that US President Donald Trump had broken international law with Saturday's mission which saw US forces arrest President Muduro and take him to the US for trial on drug-trafficking charges.
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Miss Kumar told the Commons that Article 2.4 of the United Nations charter stated that all nations should refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state.
She asked Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper: "Does the Secretary of State agree that, even when a President lacks democratic legitimacy, any peaceful transition in Venezuela must be in the hands of its people and not dictated by foreign governments, who must follow international law?"
Miss Cooper replied that she had been in talks with Maria Corina Machado, the dissident opposition leader who was banned from standing in the 2024 presidential election.
She said: "A peaceful transition is essential, and it has to be a transition to democracy that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people. That is why I have spoken today to María Corina Machado, and that is what we and our embassy in Caracas will continue to press for."
Miss Machado has been in hiding since the presidential election, saying her life was in danger. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
Despite her outspoken support for President Trump, she has been excluded from the provisional government formed following Maduro's arrest, with the US saying she lacked popular support. Maduro's deputy Delcy Rodríguez was instead appointed interim president.
