Philippines calls for restraint amid US-Venezuela conflict

MANILA, Philippines, January 6 ------ The Philippines called on the United States and Venezuela to exercise restraint following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro in a US military operation in Venezuela’s capital Caracas.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines is closely monitoring the evolving situation in Venezuela. “The Philippines urges concerned parties to resolve disputes through peaceful means, and to exercise restraint to prevent escalation of conflict,” the DFA said.

The Philippine embassy in Bogota, Colombia, which serves as non-resident mission for Venezuela, has issued a travel and safety advisory to Filipinos in Venezuela. Based on DFA records, there are 74 Filipinos in Venezuela. The DFA said the embassy “stands ready to provide assistance to them, as necessary and appropriate, to keep them out of harm’s way.”

US President Donald Trump announced the capture of Maduro, following an overnight joint US military extraction in Caracas. Trump added that both Maduro and his also-captured wife, Cilia Flores de Maduro, will now face criminal court proceedings tied to a 2020 indictment from the US Department of Justice on multiple federal charges, including narcoterrorism and drug trafficking. Earlier in the day, Trump posted a photo on social media showing a blindfolded and handcuffed Nicolás Maduro in custody aboard the US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima.

The US Attorney General said Maduro and his wife would face “the full wrath of American justice on American soil, in American courts,” based on a 2020 narcoterrorism indictment during the first Trump administration, in New York. The Venezuelan government denounced the act of “extremely serious military aggression” by the US, which followed months of increasing tension. With Maduro now out of power, Trump said the US will oversee Venezuela until a safe transition to a legitimate replacement for the deposed strongman can be identified.

Source: philstar.com