Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations condemns the US military attack and naval blockade at a UN Security Council meeting.
Venezuela has told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that the United States is waging an unofficial war to remove the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and has “continental ambitions” for much of Latin America.
“This is not just a Venezuelan problem. Its ambitions are continental,” Venezuelan Ambassador to the United Nations Samuel Moncada told a meeting of the 15-nation Security Council on Tuesday.
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“The U.S. government has stated this in its National Security Strategy, which says the future of this continent belongs to the U.S. government,” Moncada said.
“I want to warn the world that Venezuela is only the first target of a much larger plan. The US government wants to divide us so that it can conquer us piece by piece,” he said.
Earlier this month, Venezuela called for a Security Council meeting to address the “ongoing US aggression” that began in September, when the White House launched airstrikes against shipping in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean. The White House claimed, without providing any evidence, that these vessels were smuggling drugs into the United States.
At least 105 people have been killed in U.S. military attacks, which legal experts and Latin American leaders have labeled “extrajudicial killings” but which the U.S. government says are necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.
During the Security Council meeting, Moncada accused President Donald Trump’s administration of violating both international and U.S. domestic law by acting without the approval of the U.S. Congress, which requires the authority to formally declare war on another country.
Moncada said President Trump’s imposition last week of a naval blockade of all U.S.-sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers was a “military act aimed at encircling the Venezuelan state.”
“Today, the masks were taken off,” Moncada said. “It’s not drugs, it’s not safe, it’s not free. It’s oil, it’s mines, and it’s land.”
US envoy condemns ‘Maduro and his illegitimate regime’
Moncada said the U.S. military had seized at least two Venezuelan oil tankers and seized at least 4 million barrels of Venezuelan oil, an act he described as “robbery by military force.”
The United States defended its naval blockade of Venezuela as a “law enforcement” measure carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard, which has the authority to board ships under U.S. sanctions. In contrast, a naval blockade is considered an act of war under international law.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz told the Security Council that drug cartels in Latin America remain “the single most serious threat” and that President Trump will continue to use the full force of the United States to eradicate them. Walz also said that Venezuelan oil is a key element in financing Venezuelan cartels.
“The reality is that sanctioned oil tankers serve as a major economic lifeline for President Maduro and his illegitimate regime.”
Earlier this year, the White House designated several international drug cartels as terrorist organizations, including Venezuela’s Torren de Aragua. In November, the U.S. government added the Cartel de los Soles, which Maduro claims to be leading, to the list.
Venezuela’s leader has denied the US allegations and accused the Trump administration of using drug trafficking allegations as cover to carry out “regime change” in his country.
Separately, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations warned that the U.S. “intervention” in Venezuela could serve as a “template for future military actions against Latin American countries.”
China’s ambassador told the Security Council that the US actions “seriously violate” Venezuela’s “sovereignty, security and legitimate rights.”
