Maduro's capture sparks African debate

The US military's pre-dawn attack in Venezuela on Saturday and the capture of its authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores over alleged drug offenses prompted an swift response from the African Union.

The bloc expressed "grave concern" and called for respect for sovereignty of states and their territorial integrity.

"The African Union calls upon all parties concerned to exercise restraint, responsibility, and respect for international law to prevent any escalation and to preserve regional peace and stability," it said in a statement on the situation in Venezuela.

The United States does not regard Maduro as a legitimate president. Like the EU and many Latin American states, it questions the official result of Venezuela's 2024 presidential election, which was accompanied by allegations of fraud.

The US accuses Venezuela of bringing deadly drugs into the country, an allegation Venezuela rejects.

US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday morning that Maduro and his wife had been "flown out of the country."

Macharia Munene, an international relations professor with the United States International University Africa in Nairobi, said that it is "horrifying that this has been done by a country that claims to uphold international law."

"Venezuela is an example of what can happen when smaller countries do not follow the instructions of the United States or other major powers," Munene told DW.

"African countries often end up being the ones who suffer," the professor said. "The question is: how can they defend themselves from such actions?"

Remi Dodd, a sub-Saharan Africa analyst at RANE, a risk intelligence company, said that very few national governments in Africa have taken a strong stance against Washington's action in Venezuela.

"Nigeria has been relatively quiet, not denouncing US action," Dodd told DW.

"Same thing for Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya and even governments which have a history of some form of anti-imperialist rhetoric like Namibia, for example, have been pretty quiet."

Dodd noted that some governments in Africa likely have a vested interest in not undermining their relationship with the US.

"The question of potential US retaliation down the line in response to criticism of US action in Venezuela is probably driving the fact of many African governments being quiet," he said.

South Africa, which Trump has accused of alleged discrimination — and even "genocide" — of minority white Afrikaners, called the US military actions a grave violation of international law.

South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said the intervention contravenes the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force against states' political independence and territorial sovereignty.

"Unlawful, unilateral force of this nature undermines the stability of the international order and the principle of equality among nations," the DIRCO said in a statement.

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Pretoria urged the UN Security Council "to urgently convene to address this situation."

The South African Communist Party described it as "an act in complete violation of international law" and a "brazen act of international piracy."

A Ghanaian government press release cited by GhanaWeb noted with "deep concern" remarks by Trump that the US would temporarily run Venezuela and that major US oil companies would be invited to operate there."

"Ghana described these statements as reminiscent of the colonial and imperialist era," GhanaWeb reported.

Munene, the international relations professor, claimed that Washington may also be eyeing Africa's natural resources.

One example is the recently concluded strategic partnership agreement between the US and the Democratic Republic of Congo, under which American companies gain access to critical minerals essential for electric vehicles and advanced electronics in exchange for security support from the US.

"Africa is rich in important raw materials that some countries covet and want to deny their rivals," Munene noted. "But in the end, it is often the African countries themselves that pay the price."

"One of the saddest things is that countries that usually champion sovereignty and respect for international law appear to support Donald Trump's actions in invading another country," Munene told DW.

"The contrast is striking: in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, there was widespread condemnation."

Munene said that now there is silence — or even support — for what Trump has done.

"Only the weaker countries are condemning it," he added. "That is not acceptable."

The breakaway region of Somaliland welcomed the US action "as part of international efforts to restore democratic governance and the rule of law in Venezuela," reported the Somali Guardian.

Somaliland affirmed "its principled alignment with the United States in support of calibrated international action aimed at restoring constitutional order, democratic legitimacy, and the rule of law in Venezuela," according to a statement from Somaliland's Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Greater than anything else now is the fear of Trump's willingness to launch quick military strikes, says Munene.

The concern: the US could strike anyone at any time, without weaker states being able to protect themselves. "The question is: Who is next?"

Last year, the US launched airstrikes in Nigeria and Somalia — officially as part of the "war on terror."

In December, Trump said he had ordered the US military to launch "powerful and deadly" strikes against targets of the so-called Islamic State group in northwestern Nigeria at the request of authorities in the country's Sokoto State.

The strike came after months of Trump threatening military action against what he labeled an "existential threat" to Christianity in Nigeria, a claim that the country's government rejects.

An official in the Somali president's office, speaking on condition of anonymity and reported on by Reuters, said Somalia's government had backed the strikes.

Dodd, the RANE analyst, offers reassurance, noting that there are many differences between Africa and Latin America.

"If you look at the national security strategy put forward by the Trump administration in December 2025, that clearly is an ambition of having some form of hegemony over the Western Hemisphere," he said.

Dodd believes that the risk of something similar to what happened to Maduro happening in Africa is lower.

"It would not be triggered by concerns about democratic backsliding or elections being illegitimate or rigged," Dodd said, "but rather concerns from the US standpoint that a certain national government in a country in Africa would pose a major national security threat to the US."

"The threshold for this to happen would be quite a bit higher when compared to Venezuela," Dodd concluded.