We are very far from any invasions - Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has a tense relationship with US president Donald Trump over the claims of a “white genocide” in SA, says he’s not worried about any possible invasion by the US.

This comes after the US conducted a military strike against Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia, and flew them to the US to be prosecuted for “narco-terrorism” and other charges.

The SA government has called on the UN Security Council to urgently address the US’s actions.

Speaking on the sidelines of the SACP’s commemoration of Joe Slovo’s death on Tuesday, Ramaphosa dismissed journalists’ questions about fears of any possible invasion by the US.

“No, I’m not worried about an invasion of South Africa, not at all,” he said. “I think we are very far from anything like that. In the end, the United States is an important country in the world and we have always believed that any differences with whichever country, including the United States, need to be discussed.”

Ramaphosa added that SA hoped that the “collective wisdom” of the Security Council and the United Nations would bring forward solutions to the US’s actions in Venezuela.

“What has happened now, basically, is giving carte blanche to anyone to mount an invasion on any country. And, clearly, that cannot be something that we are all pleased with,” Ramaphosa said.

Meanwhile, the DA condemned the appeal by the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) to the Security Council to convene and intervene in the US’s capture and prosecution of Maduro, accusing the ANC of misusing foreign policy for party political interests.

DA spokesperson on international relations Ryan Smith said Dirco’s appeal smacked of “hypocrisy and contradiction”, as it failed to take a similar stance against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“In the context of the situation in Venezuela, the ANC has again decided to pursue its entrenched party-political interests in our foreign policy by referring the US to the [Security Council] when no such appeal for intervention was made when Russian president Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and was found guilty of human rights abuses for child trafficking,” said Smith.

However, Ramaphosa dismissed the DA’s claims of hypocrisy, saying it was selectively choosing which events to remember.

What has happened now, basically, is giving carte blanche to anyone to mount an invasion on any country.

—  President Cyril Ramaphosa

“They [DA] don’t even recall a recent historical moment when South Africa led a delegation of, or participated with a delegation of, a number of African countries, where we went to Ukraine and to Russia, urging the two countries to end the devastating war that they are engaged in. And South Africa has remained engaged in discussions with the two countries,” he said.

Meanwhile, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the kidnapping of the Maduro family undermined the UN Charter and posed a serious threat to global peace and stability at a time when the world urgently needed co-operation, restraint and dialogue.

Maduro, his wife, son and accomplices are accused of engaging in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and partnering with cartels designated as terrorist groups.

However, Mbalula said Venezuela was being targeted because of its insistence on sovereignty over its natural resources and economic policy choices.

“As a liberation movement forged in Struggle against colonialism, apartheid and external domination, the ANC recognises that such aggression is seldom accidental,” Mbalula said.

“It is often driven by contests over strategic resources, control of markets and resistance to the independent development paths chosen by sovereign nations of the Global South.

“The world must reject all actions that undermine democracy, international law and human dignity. The devastating humanitarian consequences of war, sanctions and economic coercion must remain central to the conscience of the global community.”