CEDA Statement on Venezuela Following U.S. Military Action
Washington, D.C. – The January 3 U.S. military operation in Venezuela, which captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and removed them from the country, takes place against the backdrop of a profound humanitarian emergency in Venezuela and across the region. As of 2024, an estimated 86 percent of Venezuelans lived below the poverty line, and core institutions and social services have been eroded by economic collapse, mismanagement, and broad sanctions. More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015, making this the largest displacement crisis in Latin American history.
U.S. officials’ public statements claiming the US will “run the country,” heighten concerns about violations of sovereignty and self-determination, and risk setting a dangerous precedent that undermines civilian protection and regional stability. Any transition in Venezuela must be led by Venezuelans themselves, including civil society and democratic actors, and grounded in respect for their right to self-determination rather than imposed through external military force or political control. These legal and sovereignty concerns are not abstract: they have direct consequences for civilian protection, humanitarian access, and regional stability.
These developments unfold at a moment when the US has frozen, canceled, or suspended nearly all of its humanitarian assistance to Venezuela and much of the region. Withdrawing this aid while the risk of instability and renewed violence grows will compound harm for people who are already living with food insecurity, medicine shortages, and exhausted coping mechanisms. Any transition process that fails to prioritize urgent humanitarian needs and protection risks fueling further displacement and secondary movements to and within Colombia, Brazil, the Caribbean, and beyond.
Regional security and migration challenges must be addressed through multilateral diplomacy, cooperation grounded in human rights, and meaningful engagement with civil society in Venezuela and the wider region. The US, Venezuela’s regime, and all refugee- and migrant-host countries should ensure that their policies and actions are consistent with the UN Charter, international human rights and refugee law, and core humanitarian principles. Humanitarian assistance to Venezuelans, inside the country and in countries of asylum, should be rapidly restored and safeguarded, with funding channeled through principled humanitarian and civil society actors and never used as leverage to justify or offset military or political decisions.
