'Law Of The Jungle': Congress MP Shashi Tharoor Slams US Attack On Venezuela

New Delhi: Former diplomat and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has reacted strongly to the US military action in Venezuela and the detention of President Nicolás Maduro.

What was Tharoor’s statement?

In a statement on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Tharoor lamented that stating that in today's world, "might is right" has become the prevailing principle. The senior Congress leader also opined that international law and the UN Charter are now merely symbolic, and the world has descended into a state of "law of the jungle."

“International law and the UN Charter have for some years now been honoured in the breach, @kapskom. The Law of the Jungle prevails today. “Might is Right” is the new creed,” Tharoor, who chairs the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, said in his post.

Tharoor's comments came in response to a post by author Kapil Komireddi, who criticized the US action as a double standard, arguing that the same countries supporting the US move today would cite "international law" if China were to abduct the Taiwanese president.

Where is Maduro?

After months of warnings and sustained pressure, the US launched an attack on Venezuela on Saturday, abducting Maduro, who had been in power for 12 years. The US had offered a $50 million reward for Maduro's capture. 

US President Donald Trump also shared a picture of Maduro on Truth Social, showing him handcuffed and blindfolded on a US naval vessel in the Caribbean. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were then taken to New York for trial on drug and weapons charges.

Trump said he watched Maduro's arrest "live like a TV show" from his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Venezuela's Moment of Freedom Has Arrived – Machado

What is happening in Venezuela?

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado wrote on social media that "today is Venezuela's moment of freedom." She also demanded that the opposition candidate from the 2024 election immediately assume the presidency. 

However, Trump dismissed this possibility, saying that Machado did not have "enough support or respect" in the country.

"I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country," Trump told the media in Washington.

"She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect," he added.

"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition. We want peace, justice and liberty for the great people of Venezuela. We can't take a chance if somebody else takes over Venezuela, doesn't have the good of Venezuelan people in mind. We're not going to let that happen."