The UK is “not entirely clear” what it means for the US to be in charge of Venezuela, the chief secretary to the prime minister has said, urging a move towards a peaceful transition of power.
Darren Jones said the UK would wait to determine whether there had been a breach of international law after the US attacked the Venezuelan capital and captured its president Nicolás Maduro and his wife on Saturday.
Trump told a press conference on Saturday in Florida that the US will run the country until such time as we can do a “safe, proper and judicious transition”.
Asked on Sky News if that was tantamount to colonialism, Jones said that the UK was “not in favour of colonialism and we’re not entirely clear yet what President Trump meant by those comments”.
He said the UK would not weigh in on what should happen to the government of Venzuela, but said that should “move quickly” towards a transition of power that reflected the will of the country’s people.
A photo posted to Donald Trump’s Truth Social account purporting to show Nicolás Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima, after US special forces captured him in Caracas. Photograph: White House Press Office Handout/EPA
“It’s for the Americans now and for Venezuela to set out what happens in the coming days,” he said.
“I think the important thing now, given the events that have unfolded over the last 48 hours, is that we are quickly able to get to a point where we can get to a peaceful transition to a president in Venezuela that has the support of the people of Venezuela.”
He repeated assurances given by Keir Starmer that the UK had no involvement and was not informed of the plan to strike Venezuela. “So it’s not for us to judge whether it’s been a success or not. That’s for the Americans to speak to.”
Speaking on Saturday, Starmer said he wanted to speak to Trump directly before making any judgment on the US action. “I don’t shy away from this, I’ve been a lifelong advocate of international law and the importance of compliance with international law,” he told the BBC.
Celebrations and protests take place around the world after Venezuela strikes – video
“But I want to ensure that I’ve got all the facts at my disposal, and we haven’t got that at the moment, and we need to get that before we come to a decision about the consequences in relation to the actions that have been taken.”
The deputy leader of Reform UK, speaking on the same programme, defended Trump’s action and said it was not comparable to Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine and attempt to capture President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Darren Jones, chief secretary to the prime minister, Keir Starmer. Photograph: Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street
“It’s clearly in accordance with US domestic law. Lawyers will argue, of course, about UN article 51 – the reality is that an enemy of the West has been removed. The challenge now … is to ensure that you don’t end up with a vacuum that slides into what happened in Iraq and Libya, that’s the key challenge.”
He said the comparisons with Russia “are chalk and cheese; there is no comparison whatsoever”, and “Putin has never said he was going to give Ukraine back to the Ukrainians … He wanted to invade the whole of Ukraine and to keep it”.
He said: “The US constitution gives the right to the commander-in-chief, the US president, to act in the self-defence of US citizens.”
The shadow foreign secretary, Priti Patel, said it was clear that Maduro did not have a mandate to remain in power. “We believe in democracy, and the question has to be now, these are political questions about what that pathway to democracy is going to be for Venezuela.
“There was an opposition leader who won the previous election in 2024, which Maduro clearly cancelled that result. So I think these are the important questions that we should be asking. I’m sure these are questions the British foreign secretary will ask of her counterpart. I hope those conversations will take place.”