Beijing condemns US strike on Venezuela
Beijing is none too pleased with the US strike on Venezuela.
ICYMI: A US military strike on Venezuela's capital Caracas resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife on January 3. Both were taken to the US to face narco-terrorism charges.
- The strike follows escalating US attacks on alleged drug traffickers and the seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker (likely bound for China) near the country in December.
Get this: Maduro's capture occurred mere hours after he met with China's Special Representative on Latin American Affairs Qiu Xiaoqi.
Top diplomat Wang Yi condemned Maduro's capture as "rampant unilateral bullying," insisting that "we have never believed any country can act as the world's police," much less "claim itself to be the world's judge" (Guancha).
Top international policy scholar Wang Youming went further in a People's Daily editorial, stating that:
- "The US actions clearly violate international law...contravene the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and severely undermine peace, stability, and development in Latin America."
Get smart: Harshly worded statements aside, there isn't much Beijing can do about the crisis in Caracas.
What to watch: How Beijing's tens of billions of USD in loans to Venezuela are managed in the coming weeks and months.