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Waltz Addresses the UN Security Council on Venezuela, Jan. 5, 2026

January 5, 2026 · C-SPAN · 0:10:48

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz delivered the U.S. statement at a UN Security Council meeting on Venezuela on January 5, 2026. C-SPAN carried his statement in full. “There is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country. This was a law enforcement operation,” Waltz told the Council, according to C-SPAN’s summary of his remarks. He also warned against the United Nations conferring legitimacy on what he described as an illegitimate regime, per the same summary.

The statement defended the U.S. operation that removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which Waltz argued was responsible for destabilizing the Western Hemisphere, as reported from the meeting.

Why it matters

This is Waltz’s signature Security Council defense of the administration’s Venezuela action — the law-enforcement framing he placed on the record before the full Council, in the chamber where the operation’s legality was being contested by other member states. It is the primary-source anchor for this site’s Venezuela coverage.

Scoreboard watch

This is a candidate item for the weekly scoreboard: the administration’s Venezuela position as stated by Ambassador Waltz at the January 5, 2026 Security Council meeting — a law enforcement operation, not a war or occupation — to be checked against subsequent U.S. actions and statements.

Sources: UN Security Council meeting on Venezuela, January 5, 2026 (Ambassador Waltz’s statement as carried by C-SPAN, embedded above). All characterizations as stated by Ambassador Waltz at the meeting.