Keir Starmer refuses to say whether Trump broke international law with US strikes on Venezuela which led to capture of President Maduro

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to say whether US President Donald Trump‘s military action against Venezuela may have broken international law. 

The Prime Minister said he was waiting to ‘establish all the facts’ after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of the country in an extraordinary military operation. 

Pressed on whether he believed the US had broken international law, Sir Keir refused to condemn Trump’s actions, reiterating that ‘we need to establish the full picture’.

Speaking to BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg on Saturday, he added: ‘I don’t shy away from this. I’ve been a lifelong advocate of international law and the importance of compliance with international law.

‘But I want to ensure that I’ve got all the facts at my disposal, and we haven’t got that at the moment, and we need to get that before we come to a decision about the consequences in relation to the actions that have been taken.’

The PM also assured that the UK was not involved in ‘any way’ in airstrikes on military bases in Venezuela and said he had no involvement in the operation that led to the capture of Maduro.

He also said that he wants to speak to Donald Trump to find out more information. 

‘I want to speak to President Trump. I want to speak to allies. As I say I can be absolutely clear we were not involved in that’, he said. 

Starmer’s remarks come as the Venezuelan leader and his wife were flown out the country this morning and have been indicted in the United States on drugs and weapons charges. 

The indictment of President Maduro and his wife in the Southern District of New York was confirmed by US Attorney General Pam Bondi this afternoon.

She said Maduro had been charged with: ‘Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States’.

‘They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,’ Bondi added. It is not clear what charges Maduro’s wife is facing.

Trump later shared a shocking photo of Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima on social media, showing the captured Venezuelan leader wearing a black blindfold and a grey sweatshirt. 

He also appeared to be strapped to a flotation device and was holding a water bottle.

Trump released a statement earlier today saying the US had ‘successfully’ carried out a military strike after several explosions rocked in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

‘The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country,’ Trump said.

‘This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement.’

Trump announced that he would hold a press conference at Mar-a-Lago later in the morning to release more details.

Venezuela’s government slammed the United States for attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states.

Airplanes, loud noises and at least one column of smoke were seen and heard in the early hours of Saturday morning, witnesses told Reuters.

Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.

Blasts began at 1.50am local time and one targeted Fort Tiona, which is where the Venezuelan ministry of defense is headquartered.

People in various neighborhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.

‘The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes in the distance,’ said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling.

Venezuela’s government, in a statement, called on its supporters to take to the streets.

‘People to the streets!’ the statement said. ‘The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.’

The statement added that President Maduro had ‘ordered all national defense plans to be implemented’ and declared ‘a state of external disturbance.’

Venezuela’s communications ministry told The New York Times it ‘rejects, repudiates, and denounces’ US military aggression.

State television did not interrupt its programming and aired a report on Venezuelan music and art.

Trump has repeatedly promised land operations in Venezuela, amid efforts to pressure Maduro to leave office, including expanded sanctions and a ramped-up US military presence in the region.

More than two dozen US strikes have taken place on vessels allegedly involved in trafficking drugs in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea in recent months.