The EU called for "restraint" and respect for international law in Venezuela on Saturday after President Donald Trump announced US forces had captured leader Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale assault.
"The EU has repeatedly stated that Mr. Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition," the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas wrote on X after speaking with her US counterpart Marco Rubio.
"Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected. We call for restraint," she wrote.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday in a note she was "closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela", also with an aim "to gathering information about our fellow citizens" in the country.
Meloni added she was in constant contact with Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
Around 160,000 Italians currently live in Venezuela, most of them with dual citizenship.
Trump said earlier that US forces had captured Maduro and flown him and his wife out of the country.
The Venezuelan government decried what it termed a "extremely serious military aggression" by Washington and declared a state of emergency.
