Venezuela has accused the United States of committing “the greatest extortion” and acts “worse than piracy” during an emergency UN Security Council session in New York. The meeting was convened to address Washington’s seizure of two Venezuelan oil tankers off the coast earlier this month, with a third vessel being pursued. Venezuelan ambassador Samuel Moncada told the council the US was demanding Venezuelans “vacate our country and hand it over.”
President Trump ordered a naval blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers on December 16, deploying 15,000 troops to the Caribbean in the largest US military operation in the region since the 1989 Panama invasion. Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug cartel and stated the US will keep or sell seized crude oil and vessels. The deployment aims to stop fentanyl and cocaine flowing to the US.
US Ambassador Michael Waltz responded that Washington does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. “Maduro’s ability to sell Venezuela’s oil enables his fraudulent claims to power and his narco-terrorist activities,” Waltz said. Russia and China condemned the US actions, with Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia warning the seizures could serve as “a template for future acts of force against Latin American states.”