“China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the U.S.’s blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its President,” China’s Foreign Ministry declared on Jan. 3 in a short, but blunt statement. “Such hegemonic acts of the U.S. seriously violate international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region,” it charged. “China firmly opposes it,” and calls on the U.S. “to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop violating other countries’ sovereignty and security,” the statement concluded.
Only hours before the U.S. military kidnapped him, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had received a high-level delegation of Chinese officials at Miraflores Palace, led by President Xi Jinping’s Special Envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean Qiu Xiaoqi, who was accompanied by other Foreign Ministry officials. Maduro posted pictures and videos of their exchange of New Year’s presents at the end of the meeting with the comment, “A fraternal encounter that reaffirms the strong ties of brotherhood and friendship between China and Venezuela. Every Test and Every Time!”
The Foreign Ministry of Russia issued four statements on Jan. 3 in response to the bombing and kidnapping. In each, Russia condemned the U.S. “act of armed aggression against Venezuela,” and urged that any disagreements be resolved through dialogue.
The Ministry stated “the justifications put forward for these actions have no factual basis. Ideological hostility has prevailed over pragmatic, businesslike approaches and over efforts to build relationships based on trust and predictability,” it charged. “Latin America must continue to remain a zone of peace, as it proclaimed itself in 2014, while Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own future without destructive external interference, particularly of a military nature.”
