The Transformative Governance Forum (TGF) has strongly condemned what it described as an unlawful and unprovoked military strike by the United States on Venezuela, including the reported capture of President Nicolás Maduro and the country’s First Lady, warned that the action posed grave dangers to international order and African sovereignty.
The condemnation was contained in a statement issued on behalf of the TGF by its Director of Strategic Engagements and Partnerships, Ademola Rabiu, who said the operation constituted a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter. He stressed that the use of force against a sovereign state without authorisation from the United Nations Security Council undermines decades of established global governance norms.
Rabiu said the action could not be justified as a counter-terrorism operation, describing it instead as a dangerous return to a “might-makes-right” world order. He added that statements attributed to U.S. leadership about overseeing Venezuela during a transition further confirmed the operation as an act of coercive regime change rather than a lawful law-enforcement effort.
The TGF warned that the incident set a perilous global precedent by normalising the military abduction of foreign leaders under disputed legal grounds. According to the group, such actions erode the foundations of international law, weaken multilateral institutions, and incentivise nations to seek extreme deterrent measures, including weapons of mass destruction, as guarantees of sovereignty.
The forum also linked the Venezuela strike to what it described as a broader pattern of hostility toward international judicial institutions, particularly the International Criminal Court (ICC). It recalled previous sanctions and criticisms directed at ICC officials by Washington, arguing that bypassing international courts while taking unilateral military action positions the United States above international law and undermines global justice mechanisms.
Highlighting the implications for Africa, the TGF warned that the precedent could embolden foreign powers to violate African sovereignty under various pretexts. It said the development threatens fragile political stability across the continent, undermines regional diplomacy, and weakens accountability mechanisms relied upon by many African states and victims, including justice efforts related to atrocities in Darfur.
The organisation expressed solidarity with South Africa, which has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council over the incident, and with Burkina Faso, which has condemned the strike as a breach of the UN Charter. It urged African nations to adopt a united front in rejecting unilateral military interventions.
Reaffirming its opposition to external military solutions to security challenges, the TGF called for the immediate release of Venezuela’s president and first lady, a full international investigation into the incident, and accountability through relevant judicial bodies, including the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.
Rabiu said the international community must recommit to multilateralism, respect for sovereignty, and the peaceful resolution of disputes to avert deeper global instability.
