Faith Nyasuguta
In a formal diplomatic declaration released on Sunday, the government of Somaliland has announced its full support for the United States military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolàs Maduro. The statement, issued by Somaliland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, characterized the American intervention as a necessary measure to address a long-standing governance crisis and to curb criminal activities that the ministry claimed posed a threat to global security.
By endorsing the mission – codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve – Somaliland has positioned itself as a vocal ally of the U.S. at a time when much of the international community remains deeply divided over the legality of the action. This alignment is widely viewed by regional analysts as a strategic effort by the self-declared state to bolster its own case for international recognition.
While Somaliland has operated with its own independent government and military for decades, it is still formally considered part of Somalia by the United Nations. Notably, the federal government of Somalia currently holds the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council and has taken a vastly different stance, calling an emergency session to address what it termed a violation of international law.
The operation that prompted this diplomatic shift occurred in the early hours of Saturday, January 3. U.S Special Forces conducted a lightning raid on Caracas, utilizing an extensive aerial fleet to disable the city’s power grid before extracting Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from a fortified bunker within the Fort Tiuna military complex.
Following the raid, U.S President Donald Trump confirmed that Maduro had been transported to New York to face federal charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. In his public remarks, the President also indicated that the United States would oversee the management of Venezuelan affairs until a new administration could be established.
The response from Hargeisa stands in stark contrast to the condemnation issued by several of Venezuela’s neighbors and major global powers. Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva both denounced the move as an act of aggression against Latin American sovereignty. Meanwhile, the Russian and Chinese foreign ministries issued statements criticizing the use of force against a sovereign head of state, warning that such actions create a destabilizing precedent for global diplomacy.
As the United Nations Security Council prepares to convene in New York on Monday, January 5, 2026, the focus will shift to whether the U.S. can provide a legal justification for the intervention under the UN Charter. For Somaliland, however, the priority remains clear: by backing Washington’s most assertive foreign policy move of the year, the administration in Hargeisa hopes to demonstrate its reliability as a security partner in the Horn of Africa.
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