Venezuela requests urgent meeting with the UN in the face of a possible ‘armed attack’ by the US

The government of Nicolás Maduro on Thursday requested that a meeting of the United Nations Security Council be convened “urgently” in the event of an “armed attack” by the United States against Venezuela, which Caracas believes could happen “very soon.” This was stated in a letter sent by the Bolivarian government to the representative of this body, currently chaired by Russia, a Chavista ally.

Venezuela has moved quickly on the diplomatic front to try to ease tensions that have been growing for eight weeks, since the U.S. deployed naval forces in the Caribbean under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking. President Donald Trump has made the South American country the main target of this crusade. In September, Maduro asked UN Secretary-General António Guterres to intervene to reduce hostilities between the two countries, while conducting continuous military exercises and calling for the mass enlistment of civilians in the militia, who have undergone basic military training. Now Chavismo is denouncing the imminence of an attack and the urgency of Security Council mediation.

“This letter, based on proven, reasonable, and objective information, confirms that an armed attack by the United States of America against Venezuela could occur very soon,” Caracas warned in a statement shared by Foreign Minister Yván Gil and addressed to Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, the current president of the Security Council under the rotation system.

Venezuela is calling for a determination of “the existence of a threat to peace” and for “recommendations to halt ongoing U.S. aggression plans.” They argue that the United States has decided to shut off all diplomatic contact with Venezuela, according to The New York Times.

Washington claims this deployment is part of its fight against drug trafficking. The Trump administration accuses Maduro of leading the so-called Cartel of the Suns, which was designated as a terrorist organization and is allegedly linked to drug trafficking. The Maduro government has persistently rejected the accusations. It has also called it a “false struggle” and “intimidation” aimed at bringing about “regime change.”

The letter highlights three “dangerous statements” made by Trump that have set alarm bells ringing within Chavismo. The first is his September 22 address to the UN General Assembly, when Caracas claims he expressed his willingness to “use U.S. military power to ‘blow up’ President Nicolás Maduro,” although the Republican specifically referred to “Venezuelan drug traffickers” without mentioning the Chavista leader.

Trump said this after a series of drone attacks on vessels allegedly transporting drugs from the coast of Venezuela. The second statement was issued on October 3, when he notified the United States Congress of “his determination that the country was engaged in a ‘non-international armed conflict’ with drug cartels.” And the third, the letter adds, occurred on October 4, when Trump indicated that he “would now have to ‘begin searching on land’ for the alleged drug traffickers,” which for Venezuela “points to the imminence of a violation” of its sovereignty. “It goes without saying that this looming aggression against our country would have far-reaching repercussions for the peace, stability, and security of the entire Latin American and Caribbean region,” the Venezuelan government’s statement warns.

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