Deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev
Photo by Alexey Nnikolsky/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images
Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council said the United States' capture of Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro has shattered international relations and could be viewed by Caracas as an act of war, the latest escalation in rhetoric following Washington's operation in Venezuela.
Medvedev described Maduro's capture as a fundamental breach of international law. "What happened to President Nicolás Maduro is obviously a violation of any norms of international law," Medvedev said in remarks published by Russian state media and in interviews with Reuters, TASS and the pro-war blogger WarGonzo. "It breaks the whole system of international relations."
Medvedev said that if a foreign power had "stolen" U.S. President Donald Trump, Washington would clearly regard it as an act of war. He argued that the U.S. action against Maduro set a dangerous precedent and risked destabilizing the global order.
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Medvedev has repeatedly framed the U.S. operation as driven by economic interests, particularly oil, while warning that further escalation would be costly.
He has also expanded his criticism to include other Western leaders. In January comments he suggested that Moscow could consider actions against foreign officials similar to the U.S. seizure of Maduro, naming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as an example, as Euronews reports. Medvedev accused Merz of extremism after the German leader criticized the U.S. action in Venezuela and argued that Russia could, in theory, apply the same logic used by Washington.
The former president, who has been under U.S. and European Union sanctions since 2022 over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has increasingly used provocative language to frame the Venezuela operation as part of what he describes as a broader breakdown of international norms.
Analysts have described Medvedev as a prominent voice for hardline positions within the Russian political establishment, even as President Vladimir Putin retains ultimate authority over foreign policy.
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Tags: Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, Russia, Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, Trump administration
