Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has defended the United States’ military operation that removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power, describing the raid as “morally right” despite legal and diplomatic controversy. “I grew up under a military dictatorship, so I know what it’s like to have someone like Maduro in charge.”However, Badenoch cautioned that the raid raised “serious questions about the rules-based order,” and stressed that it was different from interventions in democratic countries. She cited Greenland, saying the territory’s future was rightly a matter for Denmark and its people. The UK government has so far avoided directly criticising the US action, describing Maduro as an “illegitimate president.” Opposition parties—including Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, and the SNP—have called for the government to condemn the operation and declare it illegal. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said she had reminded her US counterpart of his obligations under international law but reiterated that it was for the US to set out the legal justification for its actions.

Source: Punch January 06, 2026 12:42 UTC