US, Venezuela clash at UN emergency meet over Caribbean strikes

The United States clashed with Venezuela and its allies at an emergency meeting of the UN 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 UNs most powerful body following deadly US military strikes on four boats that Washington says were carrying drugs Venezuela accused US President Donald Trump of seeking to topple President Nicolaacutes Maduro and threatening peace security and stability regionally and internationallyThe Trump administration has said three of the targeted boats set out to sea from Venezuela The strikes which the US said killed 21 people followed a buildup of US maritime forces in the Caribbean unlike any seen in recent timesThe belligerent action and rhetoric of the US 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 Venezuelas UN Ambassador Samuel Moncada saidWhile Venezuela got support from allies Russia and China the rest of the 15member council was cautious calling for a deescalation and adherence to the UN Charter which requires all 193 member nations to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all other countries and to settle disputes peacefully Neither US Ambassador Mike Waltz nor his deputy attended the meeting leaving Political Counsellor John Kelley to deliver the Trump administrations 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 theyre operating from and no matter now long they have been able to act with impunity Kelley said He said the cartels are armed wellorganised and violent and the United States has reached a point where we must use force in selfdefence and defence of othersTrump has declared that the US is in a noninternational armed conflict with the cartels and his administration has said the military operations against them are consistent with the right to selfdefence in the UN Charter Kelley stressed that the United States does not recognise Maduro or his government repeating Trumps claim that Maduro is a narcoterrorist 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 US military escalation to adopt measures to avoid the worsening of the situation and to approve a resolution in which all members including the US commit to respecting Venezuelas sovereignty and territorial integrity The council is unlikely to take any of those actions because of the US and its veto powerFrances deputy UN ambassador Jay Dharmadhikari said France 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 Russias UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Venezuela has been subjected to unprecedented pressure and threats of military invasion Every day he said the situation is becoming more acute with largescale US military activity just off Venezuelas coast threatening international peace and security Venezuelas request for the emergency meeting came a day after Republicans in the US Senate voted down legislation that would have put a check on Trumps ability to use deadly military force against drug traffickersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever