U.S. feuds with Venezuela and its allies at emergency U.N. meeting on military strikes

UNITED NATIONS — The United States clashed with Venezuela and its allies at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday, with the Trump administration vowing to use its “full might” to eradicate drug cartels and the Maduro government saying it anticipates “an armed attack.”

Venezuela asked for the meeting of the United Nations’ most powerful body following deadly U.S. military strikes on four boats in the Caribbean that Washington says were carrying drugs.

Venezuela accused President Trump of seeking to topple President Nicolás Maduro and threatening “peace, security and stability regionally and internationally.” The Trump administration has said three of the targeted boats set out to sea from Venezuela.

The strikes, which the U.S. said killed 21 people, followed a buildup of American maritime forces in the Caribbean unlike any seen in recent times.

“The belligerent action and rhetoric of the U.S. government objectively point to the fact that we are facing a situation in which it is rational to anticipate that in the very short term, an armed attack is to be perpetrated against Venezuela,” Venezuela’s U.N. Ambassador Samuel Moncada said.

While Venezuela got support from allies Russia and China, the rest of the 15-member Security Council was cautious, calling for a de-escalation and adherence to the U.N. Charter, which requires all 193 member nations to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all other countries and to settle disputes peacefully.

Neither U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz nor his deputy attended the meeting, leaving American diplomat John Kelley to deliver the Trump administration’s justification for the strikes.

“President Trump has been very clear that he is going to use the full power of America, and the full might of the United States, to take on and eradicate these drug cartels, no matter where they’re operating from and no matter how long they have been able to act with impunity,” Kelley said.

He said the cartels “are armed, well-organized and violent,” and the United States has reached a point “where we must use force in self-defense and defense of others.”

Trump has declared that the U.S. is in “a non-international armed conflict” with the cartels, and his administration has said the military operations against them are consistent with the right to self-defense in the U.N. Charter.

Kelley stressed that the United States does not recognize Maduro or his government, repeating Trump’s claim that Maduro is a “narco-terrorist.” Maduro and the government have denied the accusation.

Moncada called on the council to determine the existence of a threat to international peace and security due to the U.S. military escalation, to adopt measures to avoid a worsening of the situation, and to approve a resolution in which all members, including the U.S., commit to respecting Venezuela’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The council is unlikely to take any of those actions because of the U.S. and its veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council.

France’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Jay Dharmadhikari, said his country “supports multilateral initiatives aimed at curbing the sources of financing of traffickers,” but the fight against drug trafficking must also respect international human rights law and “states must refrain from any unilateral armed initiative action.”

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said Venezuela has been subjected to “unprecedented pressure and threats of military invasion.” Every day, he said, “the situation is becoming more acute,” with large-scale U.S. military activity just off Venezuela’s coast threatening international peace and security.

Venezuela’s request for the emergency meeting came a day after Republicans in the U.S. Senate voted down legislation that would have put a check on Trump’s ability to use deadly military force against drug traffickers.

Lederer writes for the Associated Press.