- Statement to the House of Commons
I want to begin by expressing my condolences to all those affected by the terrible tragedy in Crans-Montana and my support for the Swiss authorities. The British Embassy has been supporting the family of Charlotte Niddam, who was educated in Hertfordshire and in north-west London and I can confirm that yesterday Charlotte’s family were given the devastating news that her remains have now been identified. Charlotte was just fifteen. The whole house will be thinking of her and her friends and family now.
Let me turn to Venezuela. Over the weekend, the US conducted air strikes on a series of Venezuelan targets and confirmed that it had captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. They have been indicted on narco-terrorism, drugs smugglings and weapons charges. I can confirm to the House that the UK was not involved in these operations.
UK policy on Venezuela has long been to press for a peaceful transition from authoritarian rule to a democracy which reflects the will of the Venezuelan people and maintains security in the region, and is in line with international law. That remains our position and our determined view about what must happen in Venezuela now. And over the weekend, I discussed this with secretary of state Marco Rubio, and the UK government is in close contact with our international partners on this issue.
The first duty of government is the safety and security of our citizens, and my department is working tirelessly to ensure the safety of British Nationals. Over the weekend, I spoke with the UK Chargé d’affaires in Caracas, and all our embassy staff are safe and accounted for and are working to support the approximately 500 British Nationals in Venezuela. Our travel advice currently advises against all travel to Venezuela. British Nationals in Venezuela should closely follow our travel advice, which will be kept up to date.
We should be under no illusion as to the nature of the Maduro regime. A once functioning democracy has become a hub for very dangerous organised criminal gangs. Corrupt links involved Iran, with Hezbollah increasingly present in recent years, as well as malign support from Russia. And a regime which has facilitated illicit finance, sanctions evasion and organised criminal activity, including narcotics trafficking and illegal gold trading. That undermines the security of the whole region, including UK Overseas Territories as well as the United States and other regional partners.
The country has been driven into economic ruin, with an eight percent drop in their GDP in a decade. Over eight million people have left, causing instability elsewhere in the region. And we have seen Maduro’s regime systematically dismantle democratic institutions, silencing dissent and weaponising state resources to maintain power through fear and corruption.
The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into possible crimes against humanity following reports of hundreds of extrajudicial killings, including at the hands of Venezuela’s security services and paramilitary groups under the regime’s command, and UN investigators have repeatedly reported a pattern of arbitrary detentions, tortures and killings.
In the July 2024 presidential elections, millions of Venezuelans voted, but the official results have never been published. The opposition leader, María Corina Machado was banned by Maduro from standing. International observers cited basic failures of electoral integrity, and independent tallies covering more than eighty percent of polling stations showed a clear victory for Edmundo Gonzalez and yet Maduro gained victory.
And most recently in October the UN Independent fact-finding mission reported on state security forces using firearms against protestors after the elections eighteen months ago where twenty-five people died. Gonzalez has been forced to flee the country and claim political asylum in Spain, Machado was forced into hiding for her own safety and had to be spirited out of the country to receive her Nobel Peace Prize in Norway last months.
These are the hallmarks of a regime that clings to power through fear, coercion, and violence, not through democratic consent. And that is why, as the prime minister said on Saturday, we can shed no tears for the end of Maduro’s rule.
Let me turn to UK policy. Because, the UK an advocate for a democratic Venezuela and a vocal critic of the Maduro regime. Since 2019, successive UK governments have refused to recognise Maduro’s regime, through the G7, the UN, with partners, and directly, we have continued to call out the Maduro regime and its appalling human rights violations.
We have also, in some areas, taken a different policy approach to some of our allies. Our other Five Eyes partners have closed their embassies, but we have maintained our diplomatic mission in Caracas at a much more senior level than many of our partners and seeking dialogue, sustaining direct contact with the opposition, supporting Venezuelan civil society and advocating for British interests.
A year ago, around Maduro’s inauguration, the UK acted alongside partners and announced a wave of new sanctions. We targeted fifteen individuals, including judges, senior ranking officials in Maduro’s regime responsible for undermining democracy, the rule of law, and human rights violations. And we have imposed sanctions on individuals but not on sectors of the economy, and we have not supported nor been involved in blockades or strikes against drug boats.
We have continued to directly promote the interests of the British Overseas Territories who need to see stability in the region, and of course, throughout we have promoted and maintained support for international law.
Commitment to international law, as the prime minister set out on Sunday, is immensely important to this government. Those principles guide the decisions that we make and the actions we take as part of Britain’s foreign policy. That commitment to international law as part of our values is also strongly in the UK’s national interest. And our manifesto talked about a foreign policy that is progressive and is also realistic, engaging with the world as we find it in the interest of UK security, prosperity and our values.
That means upholding international law and defending democracy, and it means confronting the complex, evolving and hybrid threats that we and our allies face in the world today. And those principles and values also guide the conversations we have with our allies across a range of issues where we agree and disagree, and in my discussions with secretary Rubio I raised the importance of complying with international and we will continue to urge all partners to do so at every stage. It is of course for the US to set out the legal basis for their actions, and the UN Security Council is discussing Venezuela this afternoon. These issues will continue to be matters for international discussion.
I discussed with secretary Rubio what should happen next and our continued commitment to a transition to a peaceful and stable democracy. Our collective immediate focus must be on avoiding any deterioration in Venezuela into further instability, criminality or violence. That would be deeply damaging for the people of Venezuela, our own overseas territories, our allies in the US and other regional partners.
The UK has long been clear that leadership of Venezuela must reflect the will of the Venezuelan people. The international community come together to help achieve a transition to a democratic government that respects the rights and will of its people.
That must mean action on the economic crisis, the release of political prisoners, the return of opposition politicians, an end to political repression, respect for human rights and plans for the holding of free and fair elections. And I urge the acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, to take these steps forward because the people of Venezuela have a right to decide their own future. The US secretary of state and I discussed the particular role the UK can play to support a peaceful, democratic transition and stability, because drawing on our Embassy in Caracas, and the work we have done over many years to build up relationships and dialogue with Venezuelan opposition parties and with the current authorities in the regime and of course, our relationship with the US.
To that end, I have also spoken today with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado and her unwavering fight for democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Venezuela and against oppression is inspirational, and we will keep in touch over the days and weeks ahead.
Finally, let me turn briefly to another matter. The House will have seen recent comments from the United States and from Denmark regarding Greenland. Let me be very clear on the UK’s position. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, our close European partners, our longstanding NATO Allies and all our countries work closely together on security issues and will always do so. The future of Greenland is a matter for the Greenlanders and Danes and no one else.
