Russia and China support Venezuela in the face of US attacks

BarcelonaThis Tuesday, the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to address the situation in Venezuela following the US military deployment in the Caribbean and the Pacific. There have been attacks by the Coast Guard on suspected drug-running boats and the assault on oil tankers, in addition to the blockade of ships transporting crude oil to and from the Latin American country as part of Washington's unilateral sanctions. All of this, in a context where Trump has stated that he "does not rule out" a war with Venezuela And in which Washington has already made it clear that the attacks will continue until Nicolás Maduro "surrenders." Caracas requested this meeting, which comes after Russia and China expressed support for the Venezuelan president in the escalating conflict with the US in recent hours.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil stated on Monday that Moscow offered "its full cooperation" and support to the Latin American country against the US-imposed oil tanker blockade. Gil indicated that he had a telephone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, with whom he reviewed Washington's "aggressions" and "violations" of international law, as well as the "extrajudicial killings" in the Caribbean and the US's "illegal acts of piracy."

China, for its part, has also accused the White House of "violating international law" in actions that constitute "an arbitrary seizure of another country's ships," according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian. The Chinese government also made it clear that its country "systematically opposes the illegal unilateral sanctions" imposed by the US on Venezuela, and emphasized that "they lack foundation in international law and are not authorized by the United Nations Security Council." Venezuela interprets this as a message from China rejecting the "unilateral hegemony" of the US.

This Saturday, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister also stated that he had received an offer from Iran to cooperate "in all areas" to combat Washington's "piracy and international terrorism." The Venezuelan minister said that his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, had told him this in a phone call.

The US escalation with Venezuela

Since September, Washington has attacked some 30 suspected drug-running boats, operations in which around 100 people have been killed. All of this has been done without yet providing public evidence that the vessels were actually transporting drugs. The White House itself stated last week, through Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, that these attacks will continue until Nicolás Maduro "surrenders," and experts and analysts assert that the strategy goes beyond drug trafficking. The real objective, they point out, is to remove Hugo Chávez's successor from power. In this context, the attacks on suspected drug-running boats in recent days have been compounded by assaults on oil tankers in international waters near Venezuela. According to Washington, these attacks violate the sanctions that the US unilaterally imposes on oil trade. At the end of last week, Trump announced a "blockade" of all sanctioned ships transporting crude oil to and from the Latin American country. And over the weekend the US Coast Guard launched two new attacks to intercept oil tankers: one Saturday, successfully, and one Sunday, when the vessel, christened as Beautiful 1 And that it wasn't loaded, he managed to dodge it, according to several US media outlets.

So far, the US has not opposed a military operation in Venezuela, a scenario that, if it were to occur, would go against Trump's promise not to start any new armed conflicts during his term. However, last Friday, the US president himself... He asserted in a telephone interview on NBC News that he "does not rule out" a war. with the Nicolás Maduro regime. The leaders of both countries even spoke by phone in late November, but no details of the conversation have been released. In Friday's interview, when the journalist asked him if the objective of the attacks was to overthrow Maduro, Trump did not deny it: "He knows exactly what I want." "He knows better than anyone," he said.

Washington's influence in Latin America goes beyond the current situation in Venezuela. In the last year, the White House has increased and escalated its interference in countries in the southern part of the continent. It has shown support for certain candidates aligned with Trump's ideology before elections are held. In the most extreme cases, and when the victory of Washington's preferred candidates is not clear, Trump threatens the country holding elections with sanctions or the withdrawal of some bilateral agreements if the party he favors does not win. In Venezuela, he supports opposition leader María Corina Machado, who has not opposed a US military intervention since early December The US helped her leave the country and travel to Oslo to collect the Nobel Peace Prize.