Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, on Thursday described the series of US strikes in the Caribbean as “a set of extrajudicial executions” and urged the UN Security Council to launch an investigation.
Moncada said there have been five deadly attacks and 27 reported deaths since the US began attacking the boats in September.
American officials say that these attacks are being targeted at suspected drug smugglers. Moncada said in a letter to the UN Security Council that the attacks target “civilian vessels transiting international waters”.
“There is a killer roaming the Caribbean,” Moncada said. “People from different countries are suffering the effects of these massacres,” Moncada said in a newspaper reporting on two fishermen from Trinidad and Tobago, who were believed to be among six killed in a recent attack.
Moncada urged the Security Council to issue a statement “reaffirming the principle of unrestricted respect for the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of states”, including Venezuela.
However, the Security Council will likely be unable to take any action on the situation other than holding meetings, as the US has veto power.
Meanwhile, the family of a missing man in Trinidad who is believed to have been killed in the attack has demanded US President Donald Trump to provide evidence that those killed in the attack were drug smugglers.
A family member told The Associated Press, “If you say there are drugs on the boat, where are the drugs? We want proof, we want proof. There is nothing.”
Why is the US launching attacks in the Caribbean?
The Trump administration began building up maritime forces in the Caribbean earlier this year to combat what it described as illegal drug trafficking.
Democrats have called the attacks a violation of US and international law, and some Republicans have also questioned the legality of the strikes.
The attacks also come amid tensions between Washington and Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. On Wednesday, Trump said he had authorized the CIA to conduct operations in Venezuela.
Maduro has accused Trump of trying to force “regime change” in Venezuela.
“We’re looking at the land now, because we’ve got the sea under control pretty well,” Trump said in reference to attacks on ships in Caribbean waters. “I think Venezuela is feeling the heat.”
Edited by: Wesley Rahn