Senators alarmed over US attack on VenezuelaMANILA, Philippines — Senators expressed alarm and caution yesterday following the United States’ surprise military extraction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, with lawmakers raising concern over the operation’s implications for international law and the safety of Filipinos in the region. For his part, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada emphasized that the Philippine government’s priority must be the thousands of overseas Filipino workers potentially caught in the middle of the unfolding political upheaval in Caracas. “Our first and foremost concern should be the well-being and safety of our kababayans who may be affected by the evolving situation in Venezuela,” Estrada said. While acknowledging the complexity of the conflict, he advised against immediate condemnation, noting the US government’s framing of the extraction as a law enforcement mission based on federal indictments. “At this point, it is premature to conclude whether international law has been violated, especially as the United States government maintains that the incident was part of a law-enforcement operation,” he said.
