Ramaphosa calls for release of Maduro, slams US 'imperialist aggression'

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the United States’ “imperialist aggression” against Venezuela, calling for the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

Speaking on Tuesday in front of a Venezuelan flag at a commemoration for a late anti-apartheid activist in Johannesburg, Ramaphosa said his government “reject[s] utterly the actions that the United States has embarked upon and stand[s] with the people of Venezuela.”

The South African president urged the United Nations Security Council to take “decisive action” in response to a grave violation of international law committed against Venezuela by the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Ramaphosa also warned that the US military aggression had undermined Venezuela’s territorial integrity as a UN member state.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) called on “progressive forces” worldwide to mobilize against “American imperialist aggression” targeting Venezuela’s sovereignty and natural resources.

In the early hours of Saturday, the United States attacked Venezuela’s largest military complex in the capital, Caracas, as well as strategic sites in other parts of the country.

US forces also kidnapped Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, transferring them to the United States to stand trial on charges including “narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation, and weapons trafficking.”

During an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday, the move was widely condemned as a “crime of aggression” by US adversaries and allies.

Maduro, who has long denied the allegations, told a court in New York on Monday that he is a prisoner of war and pleaded not guilty to the drug-related charges.

The military intervention in Venezuela follows a long history of US interventions across South and Central America and the Caribbean region over the past two centuries. However, the recent operation marks the first direct US military attack on a Latin American country — a move many observers have described as “naked imperialism.”

US ‘regime change’ plot in Venezuela: From 2002 Chavez coup to 2026 Maduro kidnapping

The US “regime change” project in Venezuela began not with Maduro’s 2026 kidnapping but with the 2002 coup against Hugo Chávez, evolving over the years through hybrid warfare and crippling sanctions.

Speaking at a press conference following Maduro’s abduction, Trump declared that “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.”

He also openly acknowledged that a central objective of the military action was to bring Venezuela’s oil sector under US control.

The US president also threatened Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, saying she would “pay a very big price” if she failed to align with US interests.

Rodríguez, who has been sworn in as Venezuela’s interim leader, said “we are ready to defend our natural resources” and insisted that Maduro remains the legitimate head of Venezuela’s government.

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