ANKARA

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Saturday that the US military action in Venezuela demonstrates a deepening breakdown of the international order established after World War II.

Fico posted on US social media platform Facebook that international law is being sidelined and that military power is increasingly used without authorization from the UN Security Council.

“International law does not apply, military power is used without the mandate of the UN Security Council, and everyone who is great and strong does what he wants to promote his own interests,” Fico said in his post.

Describing himself as the prime minister of a small country, Fico stated that he “resolutely rejects” what he called disruptions of international law, adding that he has taken similar positions in past global crises.

Fico referenced his opposition to the Iraq war, the recognition of Kosovo’s independence, the use of Russian military force in Ukraine, and his assessment of ongoing developments in Gaza.

“I resolutely reject such a disruption of international law, as I did in the Iraq war, in the denial of Kosovo as a sovereign state, or in the use of Russian military power in Ukraine,” he emphasized.

Fico further questioned how the EU would respond to the US action in Venezuela, calling for consistency in the bloc’s approach to international conflicts.

He also suggested that the union should apply the same standards it uses when assessing the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“Either the use of American military force in Venezuela will be condemned and be consistent with attitudes to the war in Ukraine, or, as usual, remain pharisaical,” Fico said.

Earlier Saturday, Venezuela’s government accused the US of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states, and declared ‌a national ‌emergency.

US President Donald Trump later confirmed the "large-scale" strike, adding that President Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been "captured and flown out of the country."

The attacks came after months of growing US pressure on Maduro, who Washington accuses of being involved in drug trafficking. The Venezuelan leader had denied the claims and expressed readiness for talks.