North Korea described U.S. strikes on Venezuela as an "encroachment of sovereignty," Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused U.S. President Donald Trump of belonging to a "pedophile clan" threatening Venezuela for its oil, and Venezuela's UN Permanent Representative Samuel Moncada stated the actions "grossly violate the UN Charter," according to X posts shared between 10:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. UTC on January 4, 2026. Al Jazeera English reported North Korea's statement in a breaking post during the 59-minute window, linking to live updates on the U.S. operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Worldsource24 shared Petro's remarks, in which he claimed "the pedophile clan wants to destroy our democracy" and referenced military ships, fishermen, and an invasion threat over oil to prevent the "Epstein list" from being publicized. Moncada announced the UN Security Council will discuss the U.S. operation and Maduro's capture on Monday, calling it a "colonial war" to overthrow the government and control oil resources, per a post by @blyskavka_ua in the same period. These reactions follow U.S. disclosures earlier on January 4 that Maduro rejected a December 23 exile deal to Turkey ahead of his transfer to a Brooklyn detention facility. First footage of Maduro and wife Cilia Flores in the Brooklyn facility emerged before 10:15 a.m. UTC today, as previously reported by CNN, with Axios detailing CIA preparations since August 2025 involving U.S. officials including Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
