Venezuela’s government requested an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to address recent U.S. military actions in waters off the South American nation.
The request was made in a letter to Russia’s ambassador to the U.N. and council president, Vassily Nebenzia, accusing the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump of attempting to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and threatening “peace, security and stability regionally and internationally.”
Maduro’s government also warned of an expected “armed attack” against Venezuela “in a very short time.”
The request followed a congressional vote that rejected legislation aimed at limiting Trump’s authority to use lethal military force against drug traffickers. Since increasing U.S. maritime forces, the military has carried out four deadly strikes in the Caribbean as part of what Trump has described as an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.
Maduro’s administration contends that the White House is using drug trafficking as a pretext for broader operations.
“The ulterior motive remains the same as that which has characterized the United States of America’s actions toward Venezuela for more than 26 years: to advance its ‘regime change’ policies in order to seize control of the vast natural resources found in Venezuelan territory,” Samuel Moncada, Venezuela’s ambassador to the U.N., wrote in the letter.
Venezuela’s request did not specify the nationalities of the 21 people killed in the four strikes, which the U.S. claims involved boats carrying drugs. By referencing all four strikes, however, the letter offered the clearest acknowledgment yet of the first attack, which Maduro’s government had initially questioned, suggesting a video released by Trump depicting the strike was created using artificial intelligence.
The Trump administration stated that three of the targeted boats departed from Venezuela.
Russia has maintained a longstanding alliance with Venezuela, further complicating the geopolitical context of the escalating tensions.
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