Ambassadors briefing Tuesday, UN Under-Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said that the US military presence and operations off the coast of Venezuela have grown since the last Council meeting discussed the issue in Octoberwhich further increases tensions.
The United States has described its expanded military deployment as part of what it calls a “non-international armed conflict” against cartels and drug trafficking, Mr. Khiari said.
“President Donald Trump said he would use ‘the full power of the United States to take on and eradicate these drug cartels, wherever they operate.'”
The Venezuelan government, including its permanent representative to the UN, has called the actions taken by the United States “a serious threat to international peace and security,” Khiari continued.
In a December 16 letter addressed to the President of the Council, Caracas accused Washington of violating “the principle prohibiting the threat or use of force in international relations.”
Strikes on suspected drug ships
U.S. strikes on ships allegedly carrying drugs in the southern Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific continue, Khiari said, citing U.S. officials who reported that 105 people had been killed in such strikes since September 2.
The exact locations were not disclosed, with U.S. officials saying they occurred in “international waters” or within the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that the airstrikes violated international human rights law, Khiari added, emphasizing that the fight against drug trafficking is a matter of policing governed by strict limits on the use of lethal force.
Tensions continue to rise
Mr. Khiari further informed the Council that the United States has designated the Cartel de los Soles a “foreign terrorist organization” and declared Venezuelan airspace “closed in its entirety,” leading many international airlines to suspend flights.
Washington also announced that it has since seized oil tankers, imposed new sanctions and ordered what President Trump described as “a total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil shipments.
Venezuela, in turn, denounced these actions as a “unilateral naval blockade” and a violation of international law, and in recent days its navy has reportedly begun escorting oil tankers.
Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, briefs members of the Security Council.
Dialogue, the only viable path
Mr. Khiari reiterated the position of the United Nations on the need for all Member States to respect international law, particularly the United Nations Charterand exercise restraint and ease tensions to preserve regional stability.
The Secretary-General stands ready to support all diplomatic engagement efforts, he added, including through his good offices, if requested by both parties.
“Dialogue is the only viable path to lasting peace and preventing further instability and human suffering,” Mr. Khiari said.
Council members call for restraint
In the debate that followed, Security Council Members and participating countries have expressed concern about the situation, and many have warned of an escalation that could destabilize the region.
Michael Imran Kanu, Sierra Leone’s ambassador, said the UN Charter’s rules on the use of force are “essential to international stability” and aim to prevent escalation, miscalculation and illegal wars of choice.
French Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative Jay Dharmadhikari stressed that efforts to combat drug trafficking must be carried out in accordance with international law. Eloy Alfaro de Alba, Panama’s ambassador, urged all states to cooperate using “relevant international instruments” and called for respect for the United Nations Charter.
Regional participants expressed contrasting views, with some expressing solidarity with Venezuela in the face of external pressure: “Their fight is our fight,” said Jaime Hermida Castillo, Nicaragua’s ambassador. Others, however, warned that the Venezuelan people suffer as a “direct consequence” of the government, “and not as external or third factors,” according to Miguel Ricardo Candia Ibarra, Paraguay’s representative.
The United States commits to eradicating cartels
US Ambassador Michael Waltz stressed that his country would eradicate drug cartels, “which have operated with impunity in our hemisphere for far too long”.
Sanctions will be applied to the greatest extent possible to “deprive [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro on the resources he uses to finance the Cartel [de los Soles]”.
This, he added, includes profits from the sale of oil, as these enable “his fraudulent claim to power and his narcoterrorist activities”.
Stressing that the “illegitimate Maduro regime” poses an “extraordinary threat to the peace and stability of our hemisphere,” Waltz said the United States “will do everything in its power to protect our hemisphere, our borders and the American people.”
Venezuela says US is looking for oil
“The United States seems destined by Providence to infest Latin America with misery in the name of freedom,” said Samuel Moncada, Venezuela’s ambassador, quoting Simón Bolívar, a 19th-century Latin American independence leader and statesman.
Stressing that it is not his country – but the current US government – that poses a threat, he added: “It is not drugs, it is not security, it is not freedom – it is oil, it is mines, it is land. »
Mr. Moncada demanded that the Security Council condemn the ongoing aggression and ensure that the United States withdraws its military.
“The world knows that if the scale of armed attacks continues, we will exercise, with determination, our inalienable right of self-defense,” he said.
Click here to additional coverage of the meeting coverage of UN meetings.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
