Venezuela Condemns U.S. Military Deployment in the Caribbean
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil convened a high-level meeting with Gianluca Rampolla, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Venezuela, to discuss bilateral cooperation and express concerns over the recent deployment of U.S. military units in the Caribbean, specifically the USS Lake Erie missile cruiser and the USS Newport News nuclear-powered attack submarine, reports 24brussels.
The Venezuelan government branded this deployment a “grave threat” to regional peace, asserting it violates international commitments, particularly the 2014 CELAC declaration which recognized Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, an initiative endorsed by the United Nations.
Venezuelan officials characterized U.S. military maneuvers as acts of intimidation that contravene the principles of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use or threat of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
The Venezuelan Mission to the UN emphasized that the region is bound by the Treaty of Tlatelolco (1967), which established Latin America and the Caribbean as the world’s first densely populated nuclear-free zone. The United States ratified Protocol II of this treaty in 1971, committing not to deploy or threaten the use of nuclear weapons against signatory states.
Additonally, Venezuela reaffirmed its commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), highlighting its dedication to global disarmament and the urgent need to eliminate nuclear threats.
During the meeting, Minister Gil urged UN Secretary-General António Guterres to intervene diplomatically and restore “sanity” in the region. He cautioned against the use of false narratives to justify aggression and reiterated that Venezuela has been certified by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as free of illicit crop cultivation, countering U.S. allegations linking the country to drug trafficking.
The Venezuelan government is demanding the immediate withdrawal of U.S. military assets from the Caribbean and is seeking clear, verifiable assurances that Washington will refrain from deploying or threatening the use of nuclear weapons in the region.
