UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has praised the U.S. military’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, describing the action as “morally justified” and drawing on her own experiences of growing up under harsh military rule in Nigeria.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday, Badenoch said the U.S. operation that led to Maduro’s arrest was “extraordinary,” adding that she understood why such a step was taken despite unresolved legal questions.

“Even if the legal clarity is still evolving, morally I believe it was the correct decision,” she said, arguing that Maduro presided over a violent and oppressive system. “He was running a brutal regime, and I’m relieved that he’s no longer in power.”

Badenoch, 46, who spent her early years in Nigeria before moving to the UK at the age of 16, dismissed Maduro as an illegitimate leader and compared his administration to Nigeria’s past military dictatorships.

“I grew up under military dictatorship, so I understand what it means to live under someone like Maduro,” she said, describing his government as a “gangster state.”

Her remarks came days after U.S. forces arrested Maduro on Saturday. He and his wife, Cilia Flores, were subsequently transferred to the United States, where they are expected to face trial on charges including cocaine trafficking.