Maduro capture is legal stretch, says former MI6 chief

Donald Trump’s capture of Nicolás Maduro was a “real stretch legally”, a former head of MI6 has claimed.

American special forces detained the Venezuelan president and his wife on Saturday after a daring helicopter raid on the South American country’s capital of Caracas.

The 63-year-old dictator was smuggled out on a military aircraft before being flown to a prison in New York by federal agents via Guantanamo Bay. He was later charged with narco-terrorism and possession of machine guns by US authorities.

Sir John Sawers, who ran MI6 between 2009 and 2014, appeared to cast doubt over the legality of the Venezuelan leader’s capture, saying it would not have been something the UK approved.

Asked if Trump’s raid was of “dubious legality or illegal”, Sir John told Sky News: “In the UK this would not have passed muster, nor in countries of Europe because the legal base I think the Trump administration is relying upon is one of law enforcement rather than defence.”

He continued: “What they’re relying on is US domestic law, law enforcement and the US military forces to protect those carrying out what they would see as a lawful arrest.

“For us, that’s a real stretch legally.”

Mr Trump’s allies have insisted that the extra-judicial extraction of Mr Maduro was legal and amounted to the fulfilment of a federal arrest warrant for drug-trafficking charges. However, critics have accused the US leader of breaching international law over the raid.

Mr Maduro had been the subject of an arrest warrant for allegedly controlling drug-trafficking networks into the US, with a $50m (£37m) reward for information leading to his arrest.

US special forces stormed the Venezuelan leader’s “highly guarded fortress” and captured him as he tried to flee to a safe room.

Mr Trump, who watched the scene from his Florida holiday home “like a TV show”, said US soldiers carried blow torches to break open steel doors but caught Mr Maduro before he could hide behind them.

The US president declared the operation a huge success before saying the US would “run” Venezuela while a new regime was installed.

“We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Mr Trump said during a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate.

“We are going to run the country right. It’s going to run very judiciously, very fairly, and it’s going to make a lot of money.”

Sir Keir Starmer faced pressure on Saturday night from his own Labour MPs to condemn the capture of Mr Maduro.

A growing number of Labour MPs believe Downing Street should oppose the US decision to pursue regime change in Venezuela, after Sir Keir said he would wait to establish the facts before deciding whether it breached international law.

Credit: Reuters

The raid was carried out after a build-up of American military forces around the Caribbean and a series of deadly missile strikes against alleged narco gang members, who the US accused of smuggling drugs into the US in boats.

The Telegraph understands that Sir Keir was kept in the dark about the US president’s air strikes on Saturday in Caracas.

The Prime Minister has since distanced himself from the US effort without overtly condemning it.

Sir Keir said later on Saturday: “The UK has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela. We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime.

“I reiterated my support for international law this morning. The UK government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people.”

On Sunday, Sir John said it was not “surprising” the Prime Minister and the Government “distanced themselves” from the assault “without actually making any criticism of it”.

He said: “It wouldn’t have passed muster back here in the UK. But Americans are a law unto themselves and in some ways this was an assertion of American power – raw American power – and a message to others, especially in the western hemisphere who might want to stand up against American power.”

Both Mr Maduro and Cilia Flores, 69, his wife, were indicted in New York within hours of the operation, charged with narco-terrorism and possession of machine guns.

Mr Maduro was pictured blindfolded and wearing a grey Nike tracksuit aboard the US warship USS Iwo Jima.

He was flanked by a US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official and appeared to be handcuffed and wearing ear defenders.

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He and his wife boarded a military aircraft at Guantanamo Bay. The aircraft landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York shortly before 5pm local time (10pm GMT) on Saturday.

He was then transported via helicopter to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Footage showed Mr Maduro being led by dozens of officers through a DEA building.

In one clip, he can be heard saying: “Goodnight, Happy New Year.”