CaliToday (20/9/2025): Venezuela on Friday accused the United States of waging an "undeclared war" in the Caribbean and called for a United Nations investigation into a series of U.S. airstrikes that have killed more than a dozen alleged drug traffickers at sea in recent weeks.
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| This handout picture from the Strategic Operations Command of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces of Venezuela (CEOFANB) shows a Venezuelan Navy VN16 tank taking part in military exercises on the Caribbean island of La Orchila (Handout) |
The sharp escalation in rhetoric follows Washington's deployment of warships to international waters off the Venezuelan coast, supported by F-35 fighter jets dispatched to Puerto Rico for what the U.S. has described as a sweeping counter-narcotics operation.
"This is an undeclared war, and you can see people, whether they are drug traffickers or not, being executed in the Caribbean Sea. Executed without the right to self-defense," declared Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez while attending a military exercise staged in response to the U.S. "threat."
His remarks came just hours before U.S. President Donald Trump announced another military strike on a boat, claiming three more alleged "narco-terrorists" had been eliminated, bringing the total death toll in recent weeks to 17. He did not specify when the attack occurred, only that it was within the U.S. Southern Command's area of responsibility, which includes the Caribbean.
The strikes have ignited controversy over the legality of the killings, as drug trafficking itself is not a capital crime under U.S. law. Washington has also not provided specific evidence to substantiate its claims that the targeted vessels were actively trafficking narcotics.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab decried the U.S. actions as a "crime against humanity that the United Nations must investigate," condemning "the use of missiles and advanced weaponry to assassinate defenseless fishermen on a small boat."
The largest U.S. naval deployment in the Caribbean in decades has fueled fears in Caracas that the United States is planning an attack on Venezuelan territory. In response, Venezuela launched three days of military drills on its Caribbean island of La Orchila on Wednesday, reacting to the presence of a U.S. flotilla reportedly consisting of seven warships and a nuclear submarine.
'Imperial Plan' vs. Political Solution
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the U.S. does not recognize as the country's legitimate leader and has indicted for narco-trafficking, has framed the operation as a pretext for an invasion.
"It is an imperial plan to change the regime and impose a U.S. puppet government... to come and steal our oil," Maduro has stated, calling on citizens to join militia training to "defend the homeland."
The escalating military posturing has drawn criticism not only from the government but also from within the Venezuelan opposition. Henrique Capriles, a two-time presidential candidate and a staunch critic of Maduro, declared on Friday that he would not support any U.S. invasion.
"I continue to believe that the solution is not military, it is political," Capriles said, adding that Trump's actions are counterproductive and "end up consolidating those in power." He called on the Venezuelan government to show goodwill by releasing the nearly one thousand political dissidents currently imprisoned.
