Venezuela accuses US of ‘greatest extortion’ in history

Caracas has warned that Washington’s ambitions are “continental” and reach far beyond the country

The US is subjecting Venezuela to the “greatest extortion” in the country’s history, Caracas’ envoy to the UN, Samuel Moncada, has said.

Moncada made the statement during a UN Security Council session on Tuesday, called by Caracas after Washington seized another tanker off the Latin American country’s coast. US President Donald Trump earlier announced a naval blockade of Venezuela, claiming it had “stolen” US energy assets and warning that it would face “the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America” unless it returns them.

The Trump administration “acts outside of international law, demanding that Venezuelans vacate our country and hand it over. This is the greatest extortion known in our history,” Moncada said.

“The masks have come off. It is not drugs, it is not security, it is not freedom. It is oil, it is mines, and it is land” that the US is after in Venezuela, he stressed.

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Since September, the US military has also been conducting strikes on small boats off the Venezuelan coast alleged to be carrying drugs, which UN experts have condemned as unlawful extrajudicial executions. Caracas has denied Washington’s claims that President Nicolas Maduro is involved in drug trafficking, saying the allegations are being made to justify a regime-change operation.

Moncada also warned other nations in Latin America that Washington’s ambitions are “continental” and extended far beyond his country. “Venezuela is only the first target of a larger plan. The US government wants us to be divided so it can conquer us piece by piece,” the diplomat said.

The US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, insisted that Washington will continue to use all its power to eradicate Latin American drug cartels, calling them the “single most serious threat” to the US. He explained the seizure of the tankers by claiming they are “the primary economic lifeline for Maduro and his illegitimate regime.”

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Russia’s envoy to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, labeled the naval blockade of Venezuela “an act of aggression,” cautioning that the “cowboy-like conduct” by Washington could lead to “catastrophic consequences.”