Press Release
Published on January 3, 2026
Human Rights First condemns the illegality of recent military action taken by the Trump administration in Venezuela and its announced plan to take over and run the country indefinitely. Venezuelans voted for democracy in 2024, not Trump’s transferring one regime to another and sidelining the opposition.
In the wake of unilateral U.S. military intervention, Human Rights First President and CEO Uzra Zeya declared, “Two wrongs don’t make a right. Removing an illegitimate leader by unlawful means to establish open-ended U.S. control of Venezuela’s governance and oil sector undermines the likelihood and legitimacy of a future democratic transition. Human Rights First rejects any approach that substitutes one illegitimate arrangement for another under the false narrative of stability, security, or “America First” policy.”
Under the guise of combatting drug trafficking, the Trump administration has escalated a costly new military entanglement in the Western Hemisphere that a vast majority of Americans oppose. The Trump Administration’s claimed counternarcotics justification for this action is riddled with falsehoods about the scale of Venezuelan drug trafficking to the United States and contradicted by recent White House pardons of notorious drug traffickers, including the former President of Honduras.
Zeya added, “That Nicolas Maduro abused the rights of Venezuelans and stole the July 2024 and prior elections is without question. However, the January 3rd U.S. military operation to arrest and remove him from power was unlawful, both in its absence of authorization by the U.S. Congress and its blatant violation of the UN Charter Article 2. President Trump’s declared intent for the United States to “run” Venezuela indefinitely and exploit its oil resources represent a further trampling of international law and norms, including the core principle of national sovereignty often cited by this administration. Furthermore, U.S. boots on the ground to defend a U.S.-chosen regime or seizure of oil resources would violate the universal rights and self-determination of more than 30 million Venezuelans and put American service members in harm’s way for unjust ends. It is now imperative to honor the right of the Venezuelan people to govern their own future.”
The U.S. Congress and the international community must not rubber stamp the U.S. violation of the rights of Venezuelans and the core principle of national sovereignty that underpins international peace and security. Instead, Human Rights First calls on the U.S. Congress to exercise rigorous oversight on this unauthorized use of U.S. military force and to curb further escalation. We also call on the international community to support a peaceful, rights-respecting democratic transition in Venezuela led by the Venezuelan people and their freely and fairly elected leaders.
