It is a “good thing” that Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is gone from power, Simon Harris has said – while stating that his capture by the United States is “complex when it comes to international law”.
The Tánaiste also said it is “absolutely vital that there is a speedy, very speedy return to democracy in Venezuela” and rejected a suggestion that there is a “softly, softly approach” to the issue that could embolden the US to take action elsewhere.
On Monday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin declined to criticise the US for its abduction of Mr Maduro while saying he would have preferred a peaceful transition to democracy in the country.
Many European leaders have been reticent in any criticism of US president Donald Trump’s intervention in Venezuela. However, Spain’s left-wing prime minister Pedro Sánchez condemned it as a “violation of international law”.
RM Block
Mr Harris was asked if he agreed with Mr Sánchez’s position during a press conference on 2025 exchequer returns.
He replied: “The fact that Maduro is gone from power is a good thing. He’s a brutal dictator who had no democratic legitimacy.”
Mr Harris said Mr Maduro “resoundingly” lost an election in 2024 and he was “bringing pain and misery to his people”.
He also said: “I do think this is complex when it comes to international law.”
But he said that Mr Maduro was not recognised as the Venezuelan head of state by some 60 countries, including the Republic, European Union and United States, and he would “now face justice through a court system, something that I’m sure he wouldn’t afford to many people in his own country”.
Mr Maduro declared victory in the 2024 Venezuelan election, despite evidence provided by the opposition and reviewed by independent analysts, which showed another candidate on course for a resounding victory. He was elected twice previously, in 2012 and 2018, having succeeded long-time socialist president Hugo Chávez.
Charges against Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in the US include “narco-terrorism”, drug trafficking and money laundering. They have pleaded not guilty in court proceedings in New York.
What are the chances of a border poll in the next ten years?
Asked how the situation was complex when it comes to international law, Mr Harris said, “it certainly presents challenges as were considered by the United Nations”, referring to a meeting of the Security Council on Monday night at which the capture of the Venezuelan president was discussed.
“But I think there’s also other challenges in relation to the fact that Maduro was not the democratically elected president of Venezuela,” he said.
He also referred to the charges against Mr Maduro, which the “courts will determine”, adding “that’s why I think it’s complex”.
Mr Harris said there was “the absolute delight for many” in Venezuela “at the removal of somebody who was not their president”.
