NEW YORK — The United Nations has said it is “deeply worried” about what comes next for Venezuela following the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro, as tensions appear to be rising in the country.

Human rights groups reported checkpoints and media repression as security forces patrol the streets.

A spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, said it is clear that the US military operation to capture Maduro and his wife over the weekend “undermined a fundamental principle of international law”.

In a statement, the spokesperson acknowledged the Maduro government’s “appalling human rights record”, but said US intervention could have damaging consequences both for Venezuela and the rest of the world.

“We fear that the current instability and further militarization in the country resulting from the US intervention will only make the situation worse,” the statement said.

“The future of Venezuela must be determined by the Venezuelan people alone, with full respect for their human rights, including the right to self-determination, and sovereignty over their lives and their resources,” it added.

Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello posted two videos on Instagram showing security forces in the capital Caracas.

The Venezuelan journalists’ union denounced repression against journalists on Monday, and Edmundo González – who the opposition maintains was the true winner of the 2024 elections – repeated calls for the release of political prisoners.

In a video message from exile, González said that the capture of Maduro was “a necessary step, but not sufficient” to achieve a democratic transition.

On Monday, the Committee for the Liberation of Political Prisoners in Venezuela reported that political prisoners have had visiting rights suspended and are being prevented from communicating with the outside world.

The committee added that checkpoints have been going up in cities around the country, with people being searched and detained for possessing “digital material” linked to the US military action.

The Venezuelan government on Monday published the decree of the State of External Commotion, which grants broad powers to the presidency and orders security forces to capture “any person involved in the promotion or support” of the US attack against the South American country. — Agencies