Washington DC - President Donald Trump and his administration are preparing to exit a number of international organizations they claim no longer serve the country's interests.

In an X post, the White House announced that Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the withdrawal from 31 United Nations entities, and 35 other organizations.

The State Department said in a statement to AP News that the administration found the organizations to be "redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity."

The move comes as the administration continues to face backlash over the US military's recent invasion of Venezuela and abduction of President Nicolás Maduro, which were ordered without congressional approval.

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The invasion has been panned across the globe, with many critics accusing Trump of blatantly violating international law.

António Guterres, the Secretary General of the UN, said he was "deeply alarmed" by the operation, and emphasized the "importance of full respect – by all - of international law."

Volker Türk, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, argued the attack violated the basic international law principle that "States must not use force to pursue their territorial claims or political demands."

Among other international bodies, the US has also withdrawn from the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD), tasked with addressing racial discrimination, including effective reparations measures for the ongoing effects of chattel slavery and colonialism.

State Department principal spokesperson Tommy Pigott called the forum "racist" in comments to the New York Post and gloated about the US withdrawal.

In New York last April, panelists at the fourth session of the PFPAD called for reparations from governments and institutions responsible for the crimes against humanity of enslavement and racial discrimination.