US intervention in Venezuela 'spectacular military success' but a concern for small countries like Singapore: SM Lee

The use of military force in Venezuela may have yielded success for the US, but it comes at the cost of destabilising international order, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday (Jan 8).

Speaking at the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute’s Regional Outlook Forum at Sands Expo & Convention Centre, SM Lee acknowledged Venezuela as a "complicated country", whose legitimacy of its government is questioned, while causing difficulties to the US due to drugs and refugees.

"But that does not justify a military intervention by one country into another, unilaterally and without any proper authorisation," he said.

On Jan 3, US seized Venezuela's long-serving President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and flew them to the US, accusing the president of "narco-terrorism".

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Jan 4 that Singapore is gravely concerned by the US intervention in Venezuela and urged all parties to exercise restraint for a peaceful resolution there.

SM Lee said that while the US action is a "spectacular military success", the longer-term consequences on the rules-based international order is "something which we have to worry about".

“From the point of view of a small country, if that is the way the world works, we have a problem,” he added.

In a dialogue with Professor Chan Heng Chee, chairperson of Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute’s board of trustees, SM Lee said that the US has been more willing to act unilaterally for its national interests. 

He cited its actions in the Middle East — attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025 — Nigeria last December, and now Venezuela.

SM Lee added that there are longer-term consequences affecting the "global system", which he said is based on countries understanding the importance of co-existing and working with one another peacefully.

"Going to war has grievous and very unpredictable consequences. I am not sure that has been furthered by this environment," he added.

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chingshijie@asiaone.com