Politics

Hungary blocks EU statement on US capture of Maduro

Tuesday 06 - 13:20

Hungary refused to join the European Union's other 26 member states in signing a statement calling for calm and respect for international law following the US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, breaking even from its usual Central European allies.

Issued Sunday by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, the declaration urged "calm and restraint by all actors" and stressed that "principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected at all times." The document drew support from every EU country except Hungary, including Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who typically align with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on contentious issues.

At a Monday press conference in Budapest, Orban offered a starkly different view, calling the US intervention "good news" for Hungary. "With Venezuela, the United States, in my estimation, will be able to control 40 to 50% of global oil reserves," Orban said. "That's a power already capable of significantly influencing world energy market prices... I see a strong chance that as a result of taking control of Venezuela, a more favorable global energy situation will emerge for Hungary."

Orban's upbeat assessment of the US operation contrasts sharply with the EU statement's focus on sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Hungarian leader, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has positioned his country to benefit from multiple energy sources. Trump exempted Hungary from US sanctions on Russian energy ahead of the country's 2026 election year, while Budapest pursues diversification.

In December, Hungary's state-owned MVM Group signed a five-year deal with Chevron for 2 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas, marking the entry of the first US gas into Hungary's energy mix. The timing of this agreement, weeks before the Venezuela operation, underscores Hungary's strategy to secure supplies between Russian deliveries and potential US-controlled Venezuelan oil.

US special forces captured Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in a dawn raid on January 3 in Caracas, codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve. Maduro now faces drug trafficking charges in New York. Trump stated Saturday that American oil companies would invest billions to restore Venezuela's oil infrastructure, declaring "we're going to have a presence in Venezuela with regard to oil."

While acknowledging Maduro "lacks the legitimacy of a democratically elected president," the EU statement emphasized counternarcotics efforts must occur "in full respect of international law and principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty." Hungary's refusal to sign sets it at odds with the bloc's unified diplomatic approach, even as the statement stopped short of explicitly condemning the US military action.