Britain blasted as 'WEAK' by the White House for not celebrating Maduro's capture

In a statement released at the weekend, the Prime Minister said: "The UK has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela.

"We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate President and we shed no tears about the end of his regime."

However, senior White House officials suggested the response from Downing Street was insufficient, telling The Telegraph: "It’s not a surprise...They are just weak."

Sir Keir has been reluctant to criticise the US action directly, with Europe still looking to Washington to provide security guarantees for Ukraine.

Labour backbenchers had criticised the Prime Minister's response, arguing President Trump’s conduct had to be "called out."

Former Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Emily Thornberry said: "You can’t walk into a smaller country and take its resources, tell its leadership what to do or throw the leaders in jail. There are rules. These came out of the chaos, suffering and bloodshed of the Second World War."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the US military action in Venezuela was "morally" the right thing to do, while Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesman Calum Miller called it a "violation of international law yet our tight-lipped Prime Minister is refusing to call that out."

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the Commons she was speaking to her White House counterpart Marco Rubio over the US's actions.

She said: "I discussed with Secretary Rubio what should happen next and our continued commitment to a transition to a peaceful and stable democracy.

"Our collective immediate focus must be on avoiding any deterioration in Venezuela into further instability, criminality, repression or violence that would be deeply damaging for the people of Venezuela, our own overseas territories, our allies and in the US and other regional partners."

Mr Rubio spoke overnight with his counterparts from across North and South America, with Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand saying: "We agreed as a group to continue the dialogue about the importance of international law and other global conflicts."

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said the US had violated the international organisation’s charter which requires member nations to "refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."

In response, Mike Waltz, President Trump's permanent representative to the UN, argued the move was consistent with the White House's responsibility to protect Americans.

He said: "If the UN...and this body confers legitimacy on an illegitimate narco-terrorist and the same treatment in this charter of a democratically elected president or head of state, what kind of organisation is this?"

The White House continued to argue that as Maduro was not the legitimate leader of his country he does not enjoy any sort of immunity from American justice.

In Venezuela, the Trump administration has issued a warning to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello he could be at the top of its target list unless he helps Interim President Delcy Rodriguez meet US demands and keep order.

Mr Cabello is one of a handful of Maduro loyalists that President Trump has decided to rely on as temporary rulers to maintain stability during a transition period, said one source briefed on the administration’s thinking.

US officials are reportedly concerned that Mr Cabello could pose future issues, given his rivalry with Interim President Delcy Rodriguez.

In the meantime, they have communicated to Mr Cabello via intermediaries that if he is defiant, he could face a similar fate to Maduro.

Emboldened by Maduro's capture, President Trump has voiced his belief that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again" and has put pressure on both Colombia and Cuba.

He has also started talking about Greenland again after putting it on the back burner for months.

A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, told reports President Trump and his advisers are discussing a variety of ways to acquire Greenland.