January 6, 2026
The Council for Global Equality Calls for the Protection of Human Rights and a
Democratic Transition in Venezuela, Not Unilateral Force
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Council for Global Equality joins human rights colleagues around
the world in strongly denouncing the recent U.S. military strike on Venezuela and the abduction
of Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. These actions violate numerous provisions of the
UN Charter and the U.S. Constitution, including prohibitions on the unilateral use of force,
international prohibitions on extrajudicial detention, and U.S. constitutional protections of due
process and limits on executive war-powers.
Venezuelans have endured years of repression, corruption, and violence under Maduro, a dictator
who maintained power through the systematic dismantling of democratic institutions. Too often,
the international community failed to protect the rights and sovereignty of the Venezuelan
people, especially Venezuelan refugees fleeing persecution. A unilateral U.S. response that
disregards international law —after decades of stated commitments to human rights and
democracy—is a dangerous regression to unchecked interventionism.
Maduro was a tyrant, but his illegal kidnapping by U.S. forces undermines democratic norms and
the rule of law, which are bedrocks of all human rights protections. Maduro’s abduction
normalizes the idea that powerful states may act without legal restraint or consequence to decide
unilaterally when sovereignty applies and when it can be discarded. This logic will not remain
confined to authoritarian regimes. It threatens all countries, including those with democratically
elected leaders, and erodes remaining safeguards against arbitrary U.S. intervention in other
countries and territories that are in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, including
Colombia, Cuba, Greenland, and Mexico.
As a U.S.-based advocacy organization that works closely with civil society across the Americas
and the world to promote the human rights and dignity of LGBTQI+ persons, we recognize that
this U.S. action endangers the safety and security of everyone in the region. When international
law is abandoned, civilians pay the price. Instability, retaliation, and displacement
disproportionately endanger marginalized communities, including LGBTQI+ people.
Destabilization will force more people to flee and LGBTQI+ migrants and refugees are
especially vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, sexual violence and face discrimination in obtaining
housing and jobs.
The Council for Global Equality calls on the diplomatic community to press for a legitimate
democratic transition in Venezuela, rather than propping up Maduro’s remaining henchpeople in
an attempt to extract the country’s oil reserves without involving democratic institutions or
securing the sovereign consent of its citizens. This must include the safe release of political
prisoners; continued support for asylum and migrant reception; responsible public messaging
that avoids polarization; and a renewed focus on protection and dignity for displaced
Venezuelans. Accountability efforts during this transition must center the human rights violations
of the dictatorship to ensure a meaningful and enduring transition. We also call on the United
States Congress to reclaim and assert its sole and inviolable power to declare war and to hold
accountable those who commit human rights abuses and violate the U.S. Constitution.
In this moment of rising authoritarianism and threats to international norms, the global
LGBTQI+ movement must urgently mobilize to safeguard human rights and democratic values
wherever possible. This extends to our own recognition, as a U.S.-based organization, that our
tax dollars are funding this illegal set of actions in Venezuela, as well as the weapons used across
the world in conflicts claiming additional civilian lives in Cambodia, Gaza and the West Bank,
Lebanon, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, and Yemen. We join with the global majority
in demanding democracy and equality over greed and imperialism in this era of interventionism.
*For press inquiries, please contact Matthew Bocanumenth at matthew@globalequality.org.
Press Releases