The Taoiseach has said the Government's view was that it "never accepted the legitimacy of the Maduro regime", but wanted a peaceful transition to a democratic regime.
Deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro is due to appear in a US court after his weekend capture by US forces.
He was detained during a military raid on Saturday in Caracas that has plunged Venezuela into uncertainty.
Speaking in Beijing, where he is on an official four-day visit to China, Micheál Martin described the Maduro regime in Venezuela as brutal.
"It was a particularly brutal and repressive regime and that created its own challenges, particularly on the whole narcotics front and other activities.
"There were real issues there. That said, we wanted a peaceful transition from that regime to a democratic one that would be decided by the people of Venezuela," Mr Martin said.
The Taoiseach also said Ireland will not be pulling back from its relationship with the United States, saying "dialogue is key".
He added: "Engagement with countries all over the world is key, and we can never shrink back from that engagement.
"We export about 90% of what we produce all over the world, so we have to maintain relations and engage with different countries and that's what we’ve been doing consistently.
"But we've also then consistently at international level advanced our values, our commitment to the international rules-based order, the peaceful resolution of disputes - and that will continue to be our position."
Following Mr Maduro's capture, US President Donald Trump has said his administration will try to work with Venezuela's current government to clamp down on drug trafficking and open up its oil industry, rather than pushing for elections to install new leaders.
Venezuela's acting president offered yesterday to collaborate with the United States on an agenda focused on "shared development".
In a statement posted on social media, Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said her government was prioritising a move towards respectful relations with the United States, having earlier criticised Saturday's raid as an illegal grab for the country's national resources.
"We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence," Ms Rodriguez said.
"President Donald Trump, our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war."
Additional Reporting Reuters
