In this historic address to the UN Security Council following the 2026 capture of Nicolás Maduro, Professor Jeffrey Sachs delivers a blistering condemnation of U.S. interventionism and what he describes as a “thuggish” abandonment of international law.
Sachs meticulously details the decades-long history of U.S.-led regime change operations, arguing that the recent “Operation Absolute Resolve” is a direct violation of Article 2 of the UN Charter and a dangerous return to international anarchy. He calls for an immediate end to the U.S. naval quarantine and the withdrawal of military forces, warning that the survival of humanity in the nuclear age depends on whether the world defends the sovereign integrity of all nations. This speech serves as a vital critique of the “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine and a plea for a return to diplomacy over global coercion. Following is the full transcript of the speech:
Introduction
PROFESSOR JEFFREY SACHS: 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 II, Section 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.
Historical Background of U.S. Regime Change Operations
Let me offer some background. Since 1947, the 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, 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 beginning in 2011, Honduras 2009, Ukraine 2014, and Venezuela from 2002 onward.
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.
These measures are illegal under the U.N. Charter, and they typically result in ongoing violence, lethal conflict, political instability, and deep suffering of the civilian population.
The U.S. Record with Respect to Venezuela
The recent U.S. record with respect to Venezuela is also clear. In April 2002, the U.S. knew of and approved an attempted coup against the government. In the 2010s, the United States funded civil society groups actively engaged in anti-government protests. When the government cracked down on the protests, the U.S. followed with a series of sanctions.
In 2015, President Barack Obama declared Venezuela to be, and I quote, “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 margin 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 United States imposed sweeping sanctions on the state oil company PDVSA. Oil production fell by 75 percent from 2016 to 2020, and the real GDP per capita 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 measures.
On the 23rd of January 2019, the United States unilaterally recognized Mr. Juan Guaidó as interim president, and a few days later, froze approximately $7 billion of Venezuelan sovereign assets held abroad and gave the designated authority over certain of these assets.
These actions form part of a continuous U.S. regime change effort spanning more than two decades.
Recent U.S. Military Operations and Threats
In the past year, the United States has carried out bombing operations in seven countries, none of which were authorized by the U.N. 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 six U.N. member states, including Colombia, Denmark, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, and of course, Venezuela.
The Council’s Responsibility
Members of the Council are not called upon to judge Nicolás Maduro. They are not called upon to assess whether the recent U.S. attack and ongoing naval quarantine results in freedom or in subjugation. Members of the Council are called upon to defend international law and specifically the U.N. 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, not a solution for peace. Its own conclusion is that 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 United Nations emerged from that catastrophe as humanity’s second great effort to place international law above international anarchy. In the words of the Charter, the U.N. was created, quote, “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.
Proposed Actions for 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 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 U.N.