US Abduction of Maduro Violates International Law: Zakharova

The abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the United States violates the international legal obligations of the United States. Any decision made by a US court against a leader of another state would also be illegal, stated Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“According to universally recognized norms of international law, based on the principle of sovereign equality of states, Nicolás Maduro, as the head of state, enjoys absolute immunity from the jurisdiction of the United States or any other state, except, of course, Venezuela. Therefore, even setting aside the issue of the illegal use of armed force... the fact of his abduction and detention grossly violates the international legal obligations of the United States. Any judicial decision would be equally illegal if an American court does not respect international law and does not order the release of, so to speak, I can't say 'detained,' but 'abducted.' And the possible argument that Nicolás Maduro allegedly ceased to exercise his presidential powers and therefore lost his supposed immunity cannot be taken into account, since his removal occurred precisely as a result of the illegal military action conducted by the United States,” Zakharova said during today’s press conference.