Sri Lanka, Jan. 5 -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he is "deeply concerned that rules of international law have not been respected" during US military action in Venezuela.

In a statement read out at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday, Guterres stressed that international law "provides the foundation for the maintenance of international peace and security."

He also highlighted concerns around the knock-on effects of the detainment of deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

"I am deeply concerned about the possible intensification of instability in the country, the potential impact on the region and the precedent it may set for how relations between and among states are conducted," Gut...