US operation in Venezuela undermined international law: UN

The United Nations voiced deep concern Tuesday over the dramatic US operation in Venezuela, warning that it clearly "undermined a fundamental principle of international law".

"States must not threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state," Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN rights office, told reporters in Geneva.

Her comments came after Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were forcibly taken by US commandos in the early hours of Saturday amid airstrikes on the Venezuelan capital backed by warplanes and a heavy naval deployment.

Shamdasani dismissed US justifications of the Venezuelan government's "longstanding and appalling human rights violations" for the raid.

"Accountability for human rights violations cannot be achieved by unilateral military intervention in violation of international law," she insisted.

She highlighted that the UN rights office had for a decade consistently reported on "the continued deterioration of the situation in Venezuela".

"We fear that the current instability and further militarisation in the country resulting from the US intervention will only make the situation worse."