The United States’ dramatic capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro at the weekend has sent shock waves across Asia, where analysts say authoritarian rulers, now deeply wary of Washington’s motives, are likely to draw closer to Moscow and Beijing.
US special forces stormed Maduro’s residence in Caracas early on Saturday morning, seizing the Venezuelan leader and his wife before flying them to the US, where both face federal charges of narcoterrorism and drug trafficking.
Washington has long called Maduro’s presidency illegitimate, but the official rationale for the operation rested on the criminal indictment – a move that many governments have interpreted as a striking assertion of extraterritorial law enforcement.
The raid triggered an outcry across the globe, with China, Russia, Cuba and North Korea all denouncing the operation as a violation of international law. Iran went further, saying the president and his wife had been “kidnapped”.
Beijing said it was “deeply shocked” and condemned the use of force against a sovereign state and its sitting president, calling for the immediate release of the presidential couple.
Moscow decried it as an “act of armed aggression against Venezuela”, while Pyongyang said the “hegemony-seeking act” had once again confirmed the US’ “rogue and brutal nature”.
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