Martha Karua calls out AU over reaction on Venezuela situation
By Mustafa Juma, January 4, 2026People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has criticized the African Union (AU) for its response to the current situation in Venezuela.
Taking to her official X account on the night of Saturday, January 3, 2026, Karua questioned why the AU has been silent on the situation in Tanzania, yet is so quick to react to issues in other continents.
“@_AfricanUnion so quick on this yet silent on Tanzania’s grave situation two months later? Do attend to your core mandate,” Karua stated.
AU statement on Venezuela
Karua’s remarks come moments after the AU issued a statement reaffirming its steadfast commitment to the fundamental principles of international law, including respect for the sovereignty of states, following the United States’ attack on Venezuela.
“The African Union is following with grave concern the recent developments in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, including reports of the abduction of the President of the Republic, Mr. Nicolás Maduro, and military attacks on Venezuelan institutions,” the AU stated.
“The African Union reaffirms its steadfast commitment to the fundamental principles of international law, including respect for the sovereignty of States, their territorial integrity, and the right of peoples to self-determination, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.”
The union, while expressing solidarity with Venezuela, argued that the complex internal challenges facing the country can only be sustainably addressed through inclusive political dialogue among Venezuelans themselves.
“The African Union underscores the importance of dialogue, peaceful settlement of disputes, and respect for constitutional and institutional frameworks, in a spirit of good neighbourliness, cooperation, and peaceful coexistence among nations. The African Union emphasizes that the complex internal challenges facing Venezuela can only be sustainably addressed through inclusive political dialogue among Venezuelans themselves, “the statement read.
The US attacks Venezuela
The United States, on Saturday, January 3, 2026, launched an attack on Caracas, in which US forces also captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Maduro and Flores were flown out of the capital of Caracas on a US helicopter in the early hours of Saturday morning and taken aboard the USS Iwo Jima at an unknown location in the Caribbean Sea.
They were later flown to the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in Cuba before being transferred to another plane to head to New York State and then flown by helicopter into New York City’s Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and Flores had been indicted in the Southern District of New York.
The pair has been charged with conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the US.
“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Bondi wrote on X.