Within the framework of the plenary session of the Disarmament Conference, held on Tuesday in Geneva (Switzerland), Ambassador Alexander Yánez, permanent representative of Venezuela before the United Nations Organization (UN) and other international organizations, vigorously denounced the recent military deployment of the United States (USA) in the waters of the Caribbean close to the Venezuelan coast.
In the name of the people and the Bolivarian government, the diplomat expressed his deep concern about the presence of destroyers, combat aircraft and a nuclear submarine of rapid attack, the USS Newport News, accompanied by a contingent of 4,000 military troops, refers press release from the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry.
This deployment, as noted, represents a serious threat to regional stability and a flagrant violation of article 2, numeral 4, of the United Nations Charter, which prohibits the use or threat of the use of force against territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
Latin America and the Caribbean: Peace Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons
The Venezuelan representative recalled that Latin America and the Caribbean have been declared as a nuclear weapons free zone since the signing of the Tlatelolco Treaty in 1967, whose second protocol was ratified by the United States in 1971. “The presence of a nuclear submarine of offensive scope in the region contradicts this historical commitment and intends to be an act of intimidation against a sovereign state,” he said.
Likewise, Yánez highlighted the validity of the proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a peace zone, adopted by the community of Latin American and Caribbean states (CELAC) in 2014. This statement, recognized by the UN, reaffirms the regional commitment to avoid the threat or use of force.
Disassembling US justifications
The ambassador categorically rejected the justifications presented by the United States, which link their military operation with the fight against drug trafficking. Citing official reports of the DEA and the United Nations Office against drugs and crime, it showed that Venezuela is a territory free of illicit crops and that only 5% of regional drug trafficking towards the US travels through the Caribbean. “The real focus of the problem is in the Pacific, where 87% of drug trafficking occurs, but there is no such military display or media exposure,” he said.
In addition, he questioned the effectiveness of US military interventions in the fight against drugs, noting that in countries where the North American country has established military bases, drug production has increased. “Has anyone seen a prisoner American drug capo? What does the American financial system do with drug trafficking money?” He asked rhetorically.
A call to the international community
The diplomat warned the disarmament conference on the true purpose of this military deployment: to promote a regime change in Venezuela to appropriate its main oil reserve. “As happened in Iraq, Syria and Libya, the only objective here is intervention and looting,” he said.
In this sense, Venezuela demanded the immediate retirement of all US military forces in the region, including the USS Newport News nuclear submarine, and claimed verifiable guarantees that the US will not use nuclear weapons or threaten its use.
International support to Venezuela
During the session, various delegations expressed their support for the Venezuelan position. Iran, Belarús, Cuba, China, Russia and North Korea agreed to condemn the military deployment of the United States as a threat to regional peace and security, and reiterated their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Venezuela.
A message of peace and resistance
Ambassador Yánez concluded his intervention by quoting the Liberator Simón Bolívar: “The value and skill, Lord agent, supply the number with advantage. Men If these moral virtues did not balancing and still overcome the physical. The master of the most populous kingdom would be very soon Lord of the whole earth. Fortunately, a handful of free men have frequently seen beaten.”
With these words, he reaffirmed Venezuela’s commitment to peace diplomacy and summoned all member states of the disarmament conference to work together to preserve Latin America and the Caribbean as a free peace zone of nuclear weapons and foreign interventions.
Permanent Mission of Venezuela in UN Geneva
