The author advises the Security Council to fulfill its responsibilities by immediately affirming a series of actions in response to the U.S. attacks on Venezuela.
Jeffrey D. Sachs, on screen, addressing the U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday about the U.S. aggression on Venezuela. (UN Photo/Loey Felipe)
The following remarks, as prepared for presentation, were made by Jeffrey D. Sachs, president of the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, during an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Mondayin New York City.
By Jeffrey D. Sachs
Common Dreams
Mr. President,
Distinguished Members of the Security Council,
The issue before the Council today is not the character of the government of Venezuela.
The issue is whether any Member State — by force, coercion, or economic strangulation — has the right to determine Venezuela’s political future or to exercise control over its affairs.
This question goes directly to Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
The Council must decide whether that prohibition is to be upheld or abandoned.
Abandoning it would carry consequences of the gravest kind.
Background & Context
Since 1947, United States foreign policy has repeatedly employed force, covert action and political manipulation to bring about regime change in other countries. This is a matter of carefully documented historical record. In her book Covert Regime Change (2018), political scientist Lindsey O’Rourke documents 70 attempted U.S. regime-change operations between 1947 and 1989 alone.
These practices did not end with the Cold War. Since 1989, major United States regime-change operations undertaken without authorization by the Security Council have included, among the most consequential: Iraq (2003), Libya (2011), Syria (from 2011), Honduras (2009), Ukraine (2014), and Venezuela (from 2002 onward).
Saddam Hussein’s statue toppled in Baghdad shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. (Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons)
The methods employed are well established and well documented. They include open warfare; covert intelligence operations; instigation of unrest; support for armed groups; manipulation of mass and social media; bribery of military and civilian officials; targeted assassinations; false-flag operations; and economic warfare aimed at collapsing civilian life.
These measures are illegal under the U.N. Charter, and they typically result is ongoing violence, lethal conflict, political instability and deep suffering of the civilian population.
The Case of Venezuela
Samuel Moncada, Venezuela’s U.N. envoy, briefing the Security Council meeting on Monday. (UN Photo/Mark Garten)
The recent United States record with respect to Venezuela is clear.
In April 2002, the United States knew of and approved an attempted coup against the Venezuelan government.
In the 2010s, the United States funded civil society groups actively engaged in anti-government protests, notably in 2014. When the government cracked down on the protests, the U.S. followed with a series of sanctions. In 2015, President Barrack Obama declared Venezuela to be “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
In 2017, at a dinner with Latin American leaders on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly, President Trump openly discussed the option of the U.S. invading Venezuela to overthrow the government.
During 2017 to 2020, the U.S. imposed sweeping sanctions on the state oil company. Oil production fell by 75 percent from 2016 to 2020, and real GDP per capita (PPP) declined by 62 percent.
The U.N. General Assembly has repeatedly voted overwhelmingly against such unilateral coercive measures. Under international law, only the Security Council has the authority to impose such sanctions.
On 23 January 2019, the United States unilaterally recognized Juan Guaidó as “interim president” of Venezuela and on 28 January 2019 froze approximately $7 billion of Venezuelan sovereign assets held abroad and gave Guaidó authority over certain assets.
These actions form part of a continuous United States regime-change effort spanning more than two decades.
“The overwhelming evidence of his [Maduro’s] crimes will be presented openly in US court proceedings.”
Watch US envoy to the UN Mike Waltz’s full remarks at the UN Security Council on the recent US attacks on Venezuela and abduction of President Nicolas Maduro ?? pic.twitter.com/uVAbxfpeeW
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 5, 2026
Recent US Global Escalation
In the past year, the United States has carried out bombing operations in seven countries, none of which were authorized by the Security Council and none of which were undertaken in lawful self-defense under the Charter. The targeted countries include Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and now Venezuela.
In the past month, President Trump has issued direct threats against at least six U.N. member states, including Colombia, Denmark, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria and of course Venezuela. These threats are summarized in Annex I to this statement.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum issues a statement to the press on Mexico’s position on the attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of its president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. pic.twitter.com/vF2db18zCK
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) January 5, 2026
What is at Stake Today
Members of the Council are not called upon to judge Nicolás Maduro.
They are not called upon to assess whether the recent United States attack and ongoing naval quarantine of Venezuela result in freedom or in subjugation.
Members of the Council are called upon to defend international law, and specifically the United Nations Charter.
The realist school of international relations, articulated most brilliantly by John Mearsheimer, accurately describes the condition of international anarchy as “the tragedy of great power politics.” Realism is therefore a description of geopolitics, not a solution for peace. Its own conclusion is that international anarchy leads to tragedy.
In the aftermath of World War I, the League of Nations was created to end the tragedy through the application of international law. Yet the world’s leading nations failed to defend international law in the 1930s, leading to renewed global war.
The official opening of the League of Nations, Nov. 5, 1920. (Frédéric Boissonnas, National Library of Norway, Wikipedia Commons, Public Domain)
The United Nations emerged from that catastrophe as humanity’s second great effort to place international law above anarchy. In the words of the Charter, the UN was created
“to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.”
Given that we are in the nuclear age, failure cannot be repeated. Humanity would perish. There would be no third chance.
Measures Required of the Security Council
To fulfill its responsibilities under the Charter, the Security Council should immediately affirm the following actions:
- The United States shall immediately cease and desist from all explicit and implicit threats or use of force against Venezuela.
- The United States shall terminate its naval quarantine and all related coercive military measures undertaken in the absence of authorization by the Security Council.
- The United States shall immediately withdraw its military forces from within and along the perimeter of Venezuela, including intelligence, naval, air, and other forward-deployed assets positioned for coercive purposes.
- Venezuela shall adhere to the U.N. Charter and to the human rights protected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- The Secretary-General shall immediately appoint a Special Envoy, mandated to engage relevant Venezuelan and international stakeholders and to report back to the Security Council within 14 days with recommendations consistent with the Charter of the United Nations, and the Security Council shall remain urgently seized of this matter.
- All Member States shall refrain from unilateral threats, coercive measures, or armed actions undertaken outside the authority of the Security Council, in strict conformity with the Charter.
In Closing
Mr. President, Distinguished Members,
Peace and the survival of humanity depend on whether the United Nations Charter remains a living instrument of international law or is allowed to wither into irrelevance.
That is the choice before this Council today.
Jeffrey D. Sachs is a university professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he directed The Earth Institute from 2002 until 2016. He is also president of the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network and a commissioner of the U.N. Broadband Commission for Development.
This article is from Common Dreams
Views expressed in this article and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
And if that is successful continue convicting past presidents so that no future president will attempt such insanity.
Great idea. We should know what Mike Waltz says to justify criminality already well established and documented. Maybe it’s time to revisit Hitler’s statements in case the world was mistaken. Does US law apply to only the people with elected officials exempt in all cases? Do we accept that the country of “law and order” is now just a criminal, rogue state? Not up for debate? No action required? This country and the world need a petition available for every American to sign that cannot be rejected on any legal basis: “WE THE PEOPLE OF THESE UNITED STATES demand that the president of the United States and his administration be held accountable to US Constitutional law, International law, the Geneva Conventions and the UN Charter. Or do we wait and hope that the criminal, unpredictable actions charge before he finds an excuse to justify initiating nuclear war?
Excellent rebuttal from the belly of the beast.
But I wish Sachs didn’t inaccurately besmirch the word “anarchy”.
It basically means “without hierarchy” — he should have said “lawlessness.”
I for one agree 100% with Prof. Sachs statement that “…the Security Council SHOULD (emphasis added) immediately affirm the following (7) actions… (list)”. He always makes EXCELLENT HUMANITARIAN sense, with excellent historical facts to back up his propositions. In these days of bloviating, bullying, lying right-wingers, it’s so refreshing to read down-to-earth analysis.
That being said, unfortunately I believe that there is a 100% probability that the full Security Council will NOT do any of this given the veto power of the top five members, the US being one of those.
I actually hate reading JS’ pieces because it reminds me of the glaring distance of what COULD/SHOULD be vs what IS and will PROBABLY WILL-BE for the foreseeable future, especially given the history he and others have recounted about empires and wars. The things that JS advocates are NOT physically impossible — they do NOT require breaking any physical laws of nature (ie; traveling faster that the speed of light) nor building any huge, sophisticated, physical structures (ie; Dyson spheres, etc) — they just require a slow reduction in the manufacturing of weapons and slow trust-building and cooperation over the years, which for all intents and purposes is currently impossible given the political climate in the US. (I recently heard that Steve Miller was criticizing the neo-liberal politics that occurred after WWII because they required the victors to disband their “hard earned colonies’ and forgoe the militarism/imperialism that created these colonies, which of course is 180 degrees from the UN charter).
“Claro que sí”!!! Samuel Moncada, Venezuela’s U.N. envoy, Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum, the US’ Jeffrey Sachs are @ *“Oh, [UNSC] “help us to open their eyes. From up in the penthouse we must all look like ants to them. WAKE UP, M-ther-Fkrs, we are women & men!!! Well up, unashamed my bleeding heart. Give me an Oh, Yeah!” Roger Waters
“In the words of the Charter, the UN was created “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.” Considering, the UN, created in 1945, is eight (8) generations removed from Generation Beta, born fm 2025 to 2039. Considering the perpetual wars, perpetual coup d’états, the perpetual genocide in Gaza, sanctions imposed against Francesca Albanese & the Palestinians’ Authority. Consider “the wholesale deaths of journalists, artists, academics, doctors” Consider the deception, destruction , deaths, effected by the USG’s POTUS’ 42-47, have been debated, reported, buried.
Imo, “we,” the people, are done w/squawk, squawk, squawk about it; all night talk about ‘em, the USG’s “killers in high places” This sh*t’s been going on a long f/time; & it’s still a colossal f/mess around here!”
IMO, begs the question, how does the United Nations measure success in saving “generations from the scourge of war”?!?
Obviously, imo, the United Nations has failed; “AND, reason comes of age.” It’s time the words of the UN’s Charter reflect an attainable goal, i.e., 1) “Frog march” into the UNSC’s Court,” US Presidents 42-47. 2) indict ‘em; prep ‘em for their ride to The Hague. 3) “SAVE” all “generations from the scourge of war.” 4) FREE Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from the Brooklyn jail. 5) End their incarceration. 6) End the USG’s aka the West Pole’s, Trump’s-Rubio’s-Hegseth’s-Gabbard’s Occupation of OIL, Venezuela, Gaza, the West Bank of Jordan. 7) “What do you have to lose”?!?
…. “There is a word in Arabic, Sumud. It means steadfast. Perseverance. Particularly, in resistance to the occupation of your homeland.”
Roger Waters @ hxxps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VzFMUBEjFYo&list=RDVzFMUBEjFYo&start_radio=1
In sum, the UN’s Charter oughta read: “Trump-Rubio-Hegseth-Gabbard,” ‘Hands-Off’’ OIL, Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, The West Bank of Jordan, Russia, China, Taiwan, Panama, Mexico, Columbia, etc., etc., etc.,
Greenland and Canada are supposedly on the chopping block as well, rumor has it
Oh, yeah, joey_n. Oh, yeah, “rumors” are *“inextricably linked to the interventionist, expansionist, supremacist American-Israeli Western project,”
… *Farah El-Sharif, writer, academic and Visiting Scholar at Stanford, oughta be called on to educate the opposition in the UNSC about the “systemic repression that Muslim communities worldwide experience.” AND, NOT only Muslims. Obviously, the “American-Israeli Western project”, headed by Trump-Rubio-Hegseth-Gabbard, Inc., is “All” Inclusive. Concluding, “We, too, are occupied.”
…”We’ve reached a point where we have normalized the genocide and extermination of a people deemed to be bad wholesale according to the logic of the Judeo-Western Christian civilization. So, yes?” I was just gonna say that since World War II, we’ve primarily normalized seeing images of torture basically on Muslim bodies from Bosnia, Abu Ghraib, the Rab’a massacre, West Bank, and now in Gaza, the Rohingya, the Uyghurs. So it’s definitely a time where, a time of harrowing, sort of desensitization and dehumanization on a global systemic level.” Farah El-Sharif @ The Chris Hedges Report: Arab Regimes & the Betrayal of Palestine, February 7, 2025.
hxxps://consortiumnews.com/2025/02/07/the-chris-hedges-report-arab-regimes-the-betrayal-of-palestine/
TY, joey_n! “Keep It Lit!”
The UN is a powerless talking shop that more and more appears to be a rubber stamp for the illegal activities of the hegemon and its vassals. Professor Sachs wise words are wasted in this particular house.
Unfortunately you are correct.
I am shocked Sachs did not also call for the release of Maduro.
Bravo
Nice words, but does the UN have an army to force the US into compliance? Of course not. The US will do what it wants and kill who every gets in the way. The majority of counties shake at the thought of confronting the US, even Russia and China. So, what we have is a country, the US, run by a man child who thinks he’s emperor. Are there any brave people, or country, out there willing to confront this mad man? I thought not.
Sachs says “the Security Council should immediately affirm the following actions”, whatever affirming actions means, but the only one the Council can carry out itself is appointing an envoy “mandated to engage relevant Venezuelan and international stakeholders and to report back”.
Peace.
It’s all just posturing by the Security Council. They know they can do nothing about ‘Big Daddy’ exercising it’s power as it has for decades (as stated in the column). The added danger here is it gives Russia & China extra kudos to do the same.
It is clear what the western empires are without clothes and we are expected to praise them for it since they believe they have been ordained by a mythological being with the right to dominate the planet in its name.
The attempt to stop wars has motivated the world military technological arm protection racket to rise to protect the immense profit motive in warfare technology and use in Viking raining party permanent warfare Valhalla reincarnating for new wars born of the old.
The use of oil based systems is particularly useful as the resource to rise after speculative bubbles burst and seek new uses for creative destruction and urban renewal.
Sickening and repulsive what the Washington empire pulled off in Caracas.
I want all the servants of TPTB to face justice soon, I want them in the dock. It’s the media propagandists at all levels who should pay a cost for supporting this crime. Neocon mouthpieces across the media spectrum must be held to account.
Liberal mouthpieces who give us the claptrap about how, “Maduro’s a dictator but I don’t support what Trump did…” must be distrusted immediately and shunned from intellectual discussion.
The Bolivarian Revolution decreased child malnutrition, poverty rates, and illiteracy rates. Anyone who scoffs at these achievements is a piece of scum trash, absolute trash.
RIP to the 30 valiant Cuban soldiers who died protecting a people’s champion.
Excelentes las palabras de la intervención de Sachs al inicio de la reunión del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU hoy. Pero lamentablemente Trump y sus cómplice le importa nada. Si los EU internamente no lo lo apartan de la presidencia seguirá impunemente creando inestabilidad y caos. Los latinoamericanos somos basura que se puede patear y robar a su antojo en aras de sus intereses y de quienes lo apoyan.
Additionally, the US must immediately return Maduro to Venezuela to resume his presidency, and must pay hefty reparations for its murders of forty Venezuelans and for the damage caused to Venezuelan infrastructure.
I fully agree.
Listen to the expert wisdom of Professor Sachs for peace sake and the future of the planet to prevent WWIII