Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro issued a letter addressed to the heads of state of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as to the 194 member states of the United Nations General Assembly, denouncing an escalation of aggression by the United States government that, he asserts, jeopardizes regional security and the international legal order.
The letter focuses its warning on the so-called “Operation Southern Spear,” a military deployment that includes the presence of nuclear submarines off the Venezuelan coast under the pretext of anti-drug operations.
The Bolivarian government describes this mobilization as “an unprecedented act of intimidation in the region in recent decades” and a “direct threat of the use of force,” an action expressly prohibited by the Charter of the United Nations.
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The South American leader emphasized that these operations violate regional agreements that declare the Caribbean a Zone of Peace and a territory free of nuclear weapons. Furthermore, he noted that between September and December 2025, 28 armed attacks were recorded in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific against civilian vessels, resulting in 104 extrajudicial killings, “many of them while shipwrecked.”
He also maintained that these acts constitute violations of the right to life, enshrined in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
He further stated that the incidents contravene the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I of 1977, which require the protection of civilians, the wounded, and shipwrecked persons, and establish the obligation to clearly distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The president rejected the notion that these were isolated incidents, considering them part of a systematic practice of the lethal use of force, carried out outside any international legal framework and even in violation of the United States Constitution.
He indicated that these actions have generated intense internal debate in the U.S., where sectors of Congress and public opinion are expressing their rejection.
In the letter, the president also denounced the seizure at sea of two ships carrying four million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil as “state piracy,” calling it an illegal act of violence and plunder.
He further warned that an absolute naval blockade against energy transport not only violates Venezuelan sovereignty but will also have global repercussions on energy supply and increase instability in international markets, particularly affecting the most vulnerable economies.
#FromTheSouth News Bits | Venezuela: A recent study revealed a broad majority consensus rejecting any attempt at foreign appropriation of the country’s strategic resources. pic.twitter.com/uqEcZImlJQ
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 22, 2025
Therefore, the Bolivarian leader called on the international community to activate multilateral mechanisms to investigate and sanction U.S. actions, reaffirming that Venezuela defends its territory but maintains its “firm commitment to dialogue and peace.”
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