In brief
Venezuela's ambassador to the UN condemned the recent seizure of two oil tankers by the US as 'worse than piracy' during an emergency Security Council session. The US has ramped up military presence in the Caribbean and is pursuing additional vessels linked to Venezuela, citing concerns over drug trafficking. Venezuela's government, along with its allies like Russia and China, decried the actions as acts of aggression, warning of potential repercussions for international maritime law.
Venezuela has accused the United States of the greatest extortion at an emergency session of the UN Security Council in New York.
Washington's seizure of two Venezuelan oil tankers was worse than piracy, said the Venezuelan ambassador to the UN.
The emergency meeting of the Security Council was called to address the seizure of the tankers, which occurred off the coast of Venezuela earlier this month.
The US is also reported to be pursuing a third Venezuelan oil tanker.
President Trump has alleged that Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro leads a drugs cartel and that gangs operate with impunity.
On December 16, Trump ordered a naval blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, asserting that the US would keep or sell the crude oil seized, as well as the vessels themselves.
The US military presence in the Caribbean and Pacific has significantly increased in recent months, with 15,000 troops and various aircraft carriers dispatched to the region, the largest deployment since the US invasion of Panama in 1989.
Venezuela’s envoy to the UN, Samuel Moncada, denounced the United States, saying it was coercing Venezuela into surrendering its sovereignty. He labeled the US actions as pillaging, looting, and recolonization.
In response, the US Ambassador to the UN, Michael Waltz, dismissed Maduro's legitimacy and linked his oil sales to narco-terrorism.
This diplomatic rift has drawn criticism from Russia and China, which accused the US of bullying tactics, warning that such actions could set a precedent for future aggressions against Latin American states.
