Brazil requested to speak at the Jan. 5 UN Security Council emergency hearing on Venezuela, although it is not currently a member of the Council, to warn that the United States “crossed an unacceptable line” when it bombed Venezuelan territory and captured of its President, actions which now threaten all nations.
“These acts … set an extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community. As Brazil has reiterated on numerous occasions, the norms that govern coexistence among states are mandatory and universal. They do not admit exceptions based on ideological, geopolitical, political, economic, or any other kind of interests or projects. They do not admit that the exploitation of natural or economic resources justifies the use of force or the illegal change of a government,” charged Brazil’s Ambassador to the United Nations Sérgio Danese.
“The events of January 3rd transcend the regional sphere. The attack on the sovereignty of any country, regardless of the direction of its government, affects the entire international community. This and other cases of armed intervention against the sovereignty of a country, its territorial integrity, or its institutions must be vehemently condemned,” he declared.
The argument that “the ends justify the means” cannot be accepted, he warned. “This reasoning lacks legitimacy and opens the possibility of granting the strongest the right to define what is just or unjust, what is right or wrong, and even to ignore national sovereignties, imposing on the weaker the decisions that must be taken.”
