ANC condemns US on Venezuela attack, urges UNSC intervention

The African National Congress (ANC) has added its voice to those condemning the US attack on Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mabula addressed the media in Rustenburg in the North West emphasising that the move is in violation of the UN Charter and cannot be allowed.

The deposed leader and his wife pleaded not guilty on Monday in their first New York court appearance. They are facing a narco-terrorism conspiracy charge as well as drugs and weapons charges.

WATCH | ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula says the US’ actions in Venezuela amount to ‘imperialist aggression and the Trump administration imposing itself as the world policeman’. pic.twitter.com/OzDnoCdJfF

— SABC News (@SABCNews) January 6, 2026

A movement that prides itself in fighting for liberation from discriminatory laws and the oppressive system of racial segregation. The ANC says the attack on Venezuela undermines the United Nations Charter and threatens global peace and stability. The party believes the fight for liberation must continue.

“To this extent we have resolved to work with all the progressive forces in our country and mobilize against the American imperialist aggression, including against our own country. Folding our arms, looking on and doing nothing will mean that we have abandoned the course of fighting for justice,” says ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula.

WATCH | SABC News Correspondent Sophie Mokoena has the latest on developments around Venezuela and reactions from South Africa’s political parties. pic.twitter.com/vlU0Pb6imN

— SABC News (@SABCNews) January 6, 2026

Mbalula has also condemned Freedom Front Plus leader Corne Mulder’s remarks, praising the US’s attack on Venezuela.

“We do have reactionary forces within the GNU and here in South Africa, and we are not party to them. The Government of National Unity (GNU) is not a melting pot; Corne Mulder and what he expresses is not a view that is shared by the progressive forces in South Africa. Even those who are within and outside the GNU have condemned what has happened in Venezuela,” says he adds.

Mbalula also called on the UN Security Council to take action.

“Security Council must take action against the United States of America, not impose itself on other countries as a world police, as Donald Trump is actually doing right now. We are dealing with a person who decides the fate of countries like they are banana republics,” he says.

The ANC is yet to decide if it will take the matter to the International Court of Justice.

US-Venezuela | ANC condemns Venezuela invasion, cites UN Charter breach – Sophie Mokoena weighs in