'Tyrannical' Venezuelan president Maduro 'did a lot of damage' to his own people, says Martin

China has condemned the US action as a breach of international law, but the Taoiseach said the Irish Government has 'never accepted the legitimacy of the Maduro regime'

Taoiseach Micheál Martin, second left, and his delegation arrives at the Great Hall of the People to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing today. Photo: AP/Andy Wong

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro "did a lot of damage" to his own people, the Taoiseach has said.

Speaking in China, Micheál Martin did not condemn the US seizure of Mr Maduro over the weekend as a breach of the international rules-based order.

Mr Maduro has been taken by the US to New York following a military raid in Caracas with US president Donald Trump leaving open the possibility of another incursion if the United States doesn't get its way with the country's interim leader.

Mr Trump told reporters on Sunday that he could order another strike if Venezuela does not co-operate with US efforts to open up its oil industry and stop drug-trafficking. He also threatened military action in Colombia and Mexico and said Cuba's communist regime "looks like it's ready to fall" on its own.

The Taoiseach on Monday met with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing and speaking afterwards said the issue had been referred to "generally" in the meeting. 

China has condemned the US action as a breach of international law, but Mr Martin said the Irish Government has "never accepted the legitimacy of the Maduro regime". Mr Martin said it had been a "particularly brutal and repressive regime".

Mr Martin said:

We wanted a peaceful transition from that regime to a democratic one that will be decided by the people of Venezuela.

Asked if Ireland should be wary of the US actions in Venezuela, Mr Martin said that he believed Mr Maduro to have been "tyrannical".

"He did a lot of damage to his own people. [I saw it in Brazil in November] when I met with a number of migrants (from Venezuela). They told us about the fact that there was a time when the country would absorb a lot of migrants from South America, but has now lost possibly 10% of the population.

"So he did a lot of damage, and was quite tyrannical in his approach and repressive as a leader. That said, we do believe that the future of Venezuela is one that must be decided by the people of Venezuela. Everybody should work now to create the right conditions to enable free and fair elections to take place in Venezuela."

Mr Martin said the last election was "essentially stolen in a repressive manner. So we have to ensure that the people get to decide their future in Venezuela".

The Taoiseach said he believed that international acceptance of Mr Trump's actions in Venezuela sent a signal that Mr Xi can invade Taiwan.

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China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) last week said it had “successfully completed” two days of military exercises in the waters off Taiwan. The high-powered manoeuvres were aimed at asserting its sovereignty over the island — actions that increased tensions in East Asia during the last days of 2025.

Ireland, like all EU member states and the EU itself, adheres to the One China Policy and does not maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan nor recognise it as a state. However, the One China Policy does not preclude the development of economic and cultural relations with Taiwan at official level, and engaging with them on this basis.