Venezuela has charged the United States with the “greatest extortion” during an extraordinary session of the UN Security Council in New York.
The Venezuelan ambassador to the UN stated that Washington’s confiscation of two Venezuelan oil tankers was “worse than piracy.”
The Security Council convened an extraordinary meeting to address the seizure of tankers that occurred off the coast of Venezuela earlier this month.
The United States has indicated that it is seeking a third Venezuelan oil tanker.
President Trump has charged Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro with orchestrating a drug cartel and asserted that gangs had functioned with impunity for an extended period.
On December 16, Trump mandated a naval blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and exiting Venezuela.
The US president has stated that the US will retain or sell the crude oil it has acquired, along with the boats themselves.
In recent months, the US has boosted its military presence in the Pacific and Caribbean Seas by deploying 15,000 troops along with various aircraft carriers and cruisers to the region.
This is the most extensive deployment to the region since the US invasion of Panama in 1989, with the declared objective of halting the influx of fentanyl and cocaine into the US.
The United States has executed strikes against alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessels, striking over 20 boats and resulting in a minimum of 100 fatalities.
Certain experts assert that the strikes may violate laws governing armed conflict.
The Venezuelan representative to the UN stated that the United States is imposing the “greatest extortion” in the nation’s history.
During the UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Samuel Moncada stated, “We are confronted with a power that operates beyond international law, insisting that Venezuelans abandon our nation and relinquish it.”
Concerning the US appropriation of Venezuelan oil, he remarked: “We are discussing pillaging, looting, and recolonization of Venezuela.”
“The United States government lacks jurisdiction in the Caribbean.”
Concerning the Venezuelan oil sector, he inquired: “What relevance does that have to narcotics?”
In response, the US Ambassador to the UN, Michael Waltz, informed the Security Council that the US does not acknowledge Mr. Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.
Mr. Waltz stated, “Maduro’s capacity to sell Venezuela’s oil facilitates his deceptive assertions of authority and his involvement in narco-terrorism.”
During a visit to a trade expo in Caracas, President Maduro stated, “the Security Council is providing substantial support to Venezuela.”
Russia and China have accused the United States of intimidation and belligerence.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, stated during the UN meeting that the US was “illegally destroying” civilian vessels in the Caribbean Sea.
He cautioned that further nations might follow.
He stated that the US operations against Venezuelan warships served as “a template for future acts of force against Latin American states.”
Concurrently, China’s representative to the UN, Sun Lei, urged the United States to “promptly cease pertinent actions and prevent additional escalation of tensions.”
