Anwar calls for Maduro's release

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called on the US to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

Anwar said their capture by the US military was of "unusual scope and nature" and was a clear violation of international law.

"Whatever may be the reasons, the forcible removal of a sitting head of government through external action sets a dangerous precedent.

"It erodes fundamental restraints on the use of power between states and weakens the legal framework that underpins international order.

"It is for the people of Venezuela to determine their own political future. As history has shown, abrupt changes in leadership brought about through external force will bring more harm than good, what more in a country already grappling with prolonged economic hardship and deep social strain," he said in a statement today.

The US launched strikes on several locations in the Venezuelan capital Caracas in the early hours of Saturday, including military bases.

They then captured Maduro and his wife and extradited them to the US to face charges alleging that the Venezuelan president ran “state-sponsored gangs” and facilitated drug trafficking.

‘Judicious transition’

Maduro has been in office since 2013, succeeding Venezuelan dictator, the late Hugo Chavez.

He has been accused of undermining elections in the country and is alleged to have manipulated the outcome of the country's last presidential election in 2024, which the opposition claimed he had lost.

With Maduro detained, CNN reported US President Donald Trump as saying that the US will now run Venezuela until a "judicious transition" can take place.

Trump is also seizing Venezuela's massive oil reserves and bringing in US companies to "fix" the South American country's oil infrastructure.

Venezuela has the world's largest cache of oil reserves, with about 303 billion barrels - or 20 percent - of proven crude oil reserves in 2023.

Trump did not get approval from the US Congress to launch the attack on Venezuela as required by law.

It is not clear if Anwar has managed to speak to Trump about Maduro's detention.

‘Not surprising’

In a separate statement, DAP international affairs secretary Kasthuri Patto noted that Venezuelans celebrating Maduro's ousting is not surprising.

"Under Maduro, opposition leaders have been jailed indefinitely on fabricated and made-up accusations, gross erosion of human rights through extrajudicial killings and the squashing of civil liberties, resulting in almost eight million Venezuelans fleeing his rule and dictatorship and seeking refuge in other countries," she said.

However, she stressed that the US' attack on Venezuela and forced removal of the president will not repair the country's institutions, and called for de-escalation.

"Only Venezuelans can decide the present and future of Venezuela through an independent, clean, free and fair election and without interference, pressure or threats from outside.

"DAP believes that the pursuit of justice, democracy, freedom, human rights and defending sovereignty cannot be achieved through military attacks or violent coercions, whether domestic or from abroad," Kasthuri said.

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