Rosemary De Carlo read a statement from U.N. Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres to the Security Council saying the body "meets at a grave time" after reported U.S. military action in Venezuela. The statement said U.S. forces were active across Caracas and the northern states of Miranda, Aragua and Laguaira and that the extent of casualties "remains undetermined."

Guterres, through the statement read by De Carlo, quoted a social‑media post from U.S. President Donald Trump saying the United States had conducted a "large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, president Nicolas Maduro." The statement also quoted Trump as saying at a press conference, "we are going to run the country until such time that we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition."

The statement said the Venezuelan government had characterized the U.S. action as "a military aggression" carried out in civilian and military areas and as "a flagrant violation of the Charter," posing a threat to international and regional peace and security. It further reported that "president Maduro is being held in New York, accused by US authorities, along with his wife, Celia Flores, of serious criminal offenses."

The Secretary‑General expressed deep concern about the possible intensification of instability in Venezuela, the potential regional impact and the precedent such actions might set for interstate relations. He recalled that attention on Venezuela increased after contested presidential elections in July 2024 and said a panel of electoral experts had "highlighted serious issues," calling for the full transparency and publication of election results. The statement cited a December 23 report to the Council from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights cataloguing "serious violations."

The statement also noted that in March an interim Venezuelan president, Delsey Rodrigues, invoked an emergency decree extending security powers nationwide. Emphasizing the U.N. Charter, the statement said the prohibition on the threat or use of force against a state's territorial integrity and political independence is central to maintaining international peace and security and warned that those rules had not been respected with regard to the March military action.

Guterres, via De Carlo, urged Venezuelan actors to engage in an "inclusive democratic dialogue" that would allow all sectors of society to determine their future and stressed the need for respect for human rights, the rule of law and the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people. He called on Venezuela's neighbors and the international community to act in solidarity and to use legal tools — including mechanisms for addressing illicit trafficking, resource disputes and human‑rights concerns — to seek a peaceful way forward.

The statement concluded with an offer of support from the Secretary‑General for efforts to assist Venezuelans in finding a peaceful path forward. De Carlo then thanked the president and yielded the floor.