Nicaragua rejects the “acts of modern piracy” of the U.S. against Venezuela

The permanent representative of Nicaragua to the United Nations (UN), Jaime Hermida, repudiated this Tuesday the “acts of modern piracy” of the U.S. Government against Venezuela. “Nicaragua categorically denounces acts of modern piracy, in this case, the plundering of Venezuela’s resources“, Hermida affirmed during an emergency meeting of the Security Council on the situation in the Caribbean country. He mentioned “the hijacking of oil tankers and the dispossession of financial assets” which “undermine the sovereignty of the people of Venezuela and constitute a dangerous attack against peace and the stability of the entire region”. Furthermore, he demanded the “immediate cessation” of the unprecedented U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean, which he described as “a direct threat to the security” of Latin American nations. “Venezuela is not alone,” he emphasized, reiterating the solidarity of the Government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo with the Caribbean country. Hermida expressed that this type of actions, which are carried out during the last months, aim to generate a “collapse” of the Venezuelan economy in order to subsequently install a “docile government of selfish foreign interests”. “The Security Council and the United Nations, the UN, have an obligation to safeguard international peace and security. They cannot be passive spectators of the looting of a member country,” the diplomat emphasized.

Venezuela under siege by the US

Since last August, the U.S. has maintained the largest military deployment of the last decades in the Caribbean waters, with a sustained presence of naval and air assets. Initially, Washington justified this operation under the argument of the supposed fight against drug trafficking, holding the Maduro government responsible without presenting evidence, for contributing to that crime.

Over the months, Washington’s official narrative has undergone a predictable shift. As the Venezuelan government had denounced, the supposed focus on drug trafficking has given way to a discourse openly centered on the control and illegal appropriation of the South American country’s energy resources, in a context of increasing economic pressure and threats of force. In recent weeks, the U.S. has seized at least two oil tankers, in an act labeled by Caracas as “theft” and piracy”. The US military operation has also had lethal consequences. More than 100 people have died as a result of more than twenty bombings against small boats in the Caribbean and Pacific waters, without the US having publicly demonstrated the link of these with illicit activities.

Faced with these actions, Caracas announced that it would go this Tuesday to the United Nations Security Council to denounce what it calls military aggressions by the U.S. and a violation of international law.

From Russia, they have repeatedly expressed their support for the South American nation and have called for full respect for international law. Thus, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in a telephone conversation held in early December with his Venezuelan counterpart, manifested his “solidarity with the Venezuelan people” and “reaffirmed his support for the course of the Government” of Maduro, “aimed at defending national interests and sovereignty in conditions of increasing external pressure”. He also stressed that Venezuela “deserves absolute respect in its legitimate struggle for the defense of its sovereignty and independence”. Previously, the Venezuelan president sent a letter to the member states of the United Nations, in which he warned about “an escalation of extremely serious actions by the U.S. Government.” In the letter, he warned that these operations threaten to destabilize the entire Caribbean region and the international system as a whole.