Venezuela warns US ‘aggression’ is first stage amid ‘continental ambitions’

Venezuela’s UN ambassador denounces US subject strikes and naval blockade astatine a gathering of the UN Security Council.

Venezuela has told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that the United States has “continental ambitions” implicit overmuch of Latin America arsenic it wages an unofficial war to region the authorities of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

“It’s not conscionable astir Venezuela. The ambition is continental,” Venezuela’s UN ambassador, Samuel Moncada, told a gathering of the 15-member UNSC connected Tuesday.

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“The US authorities has expressed this successful its National Security Strategy, which states that the aboriginal of the continent belongs to them,” Moncada said.

“We privation to alert the satellite that Venezuela is only the archetypal target of a larger plan. The US authorities wants america to beryllium divided truthful it tin conquer america portion by piece,” helium said.

Venezuela, earlier this month, requested that the UNSC conscionable to code the “ongoing US aggression”, which began successful September erstwhile the White House launched aerial strikes against vessels successful the Caribbean Sea and eastbound Pacific Ocean. The White House claimed, without providing immoderate evidence, that the vessels were trafficking drugs to the US.

At slightest 105 radical person been killed truthful acold successful the attacks by US forces, which ineligible experts and Latin American leaders person branded “extrajudicial killings”, but which Washington claims are indispensable to stem the travel of drugs to US shores.

At the UNSC meeting, Moncada besides accused the medication of US President Donald Trump of violating some planetary and US home law, since the White House has been acting without the support of the US Congress, whose authorization is required to formally state warfare connected different country.

Moncada said that Trump’s imposition past week of a naval blockade connected each Venezuelan lipid tankers sanctioned by the US was a “military enactment aimed astatine laying siege to the Venezuelan nation”.

“Today, the masks person travel off,” Moncada said. “It is not drugs, it is not security, it is not freedom. It is oil, it is mines and it is land.”

US envoy denounces ‘Maduro and his illegitimate regime’

US forces person seized astatine slightest 2 Venezuelan lipid tankers and confiscated astatine slightest 4 cardinal barrels of Venezuelan oil, according to Moncada, successful a determination helium described arsenic “a robbery carried retired by subject force”.

The US has defended its naval blockade of Venezuela arsenic a “law enforcement” enactment to beryllium carried retired by the US coastguard, which has the authorization to committee ships nether US sanctions. A naval blockade, by contrast, would beryllium considered an enactment of warfare nether planetary law.

The US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, told the UNSC that Latin American cause cartels stay the “single astir superior threat” and that Trump would proceed to usage the afloat powerfulness of the US to eradicate them. Waltz besides said that Venezuelan lipid is simply a captious constituent successful backing the cartels successful Venezuela.

“The world of the concern is that sanctioned lipid tankers run arsenic the superior economical lifeline for Maduro and his illegitimate regime,” helium said.

The White House earlier this twelvemonth designated respective planetary cause cartels, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, arsenic violent organisations. Washington besides added the “Cartel de los Soles,” which it claims is headed by Maduro, to the database successful November.

The Venezuelan person has denied the US allegations and accused the Trump medication of utilizing the cause trafficking claims arsenic a screen to transportation retired “regime change” successful his country.

Russia’s ambassador to the UN separately warned that US “intervention” successful Venezuela could “become a template for aboriginal acts of unit against Latin American states”.

China’s ambassador told the UNSC that the US actions “seriously infringe” connected the “sovereignty, information and morganatic rights” of Venezuela.