Name: UN holds emergency meeting on U.S.-Venezuela tensions
Uploaded: 2025-12-24T02:48:57.958Z
Duration: 3 min 48 s
Description: The United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting requested by Venezuela over U.S. conduct in the Caribbean Sea. Several countries have called on the U.S. to curb further escalation as it continues to move more military assets into the region.

The United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting requested by Venezuela over U.S. conduct in the Caribbean Sea. Several countries have called on the U.S. to curb further escalation as it continues to move more military assets into the region.

New York

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting in New York to address increasing tensions between the United States and Venezuela. The session was called after U.S. forces seized two Venezuelan oil tankers and conducted strikes on smaller vessels, actions the U.S. claims are aimed at curbing drug trafficking.

Russia and China supported Venezuela's call for the meeting, condemning U.S. actions as aggressive and threatening to regional peace. The U.S. ambassador defended the operations and criticized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, while reports indicated the U.S. has increased its military presence in the region. International criticism has grown, with some states labeling the U.S. strikes as extrajudicial killings due to insufficient evidence regarding the targeted vessels.

UN holds emergency meeting on U.S.-Venezuela tensions

Well, the United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency session on Venezuela this hour. Officials in the country called for the meeting over what they say is ongoing U.S. aggression. U.S. forces have seized two oil tankers from the Caribbean nation, including one over the weekend, and have carried out strikes on smaller boats in the region. The U.S. says its actions are lawful and necessary to curb the flow of drugs into its territory. And journalist Mitch McCann is following this story for us. He joins us now from the United Nations. So, Mitch, the meeting is underway. What are you hearing so far? Yeah, well, good afternoon. At the Security Council today, we've heard from a number of member states so far, including both Russia and China, who actually supported Venezuela's call for this meeting to take place when they asked for it on the 17th of December a week ago. We first heard today from Russia's ambassador to the U.N. who said that America's illegal blockade is a clear and real act of aggression. He labeled Washington's behavior as cowboy-like conduct. What I also found interesting was Russia's accusation that this could become a template for future acts of force by the Americans against Latin American states. One of the allegations, actually, it has to be said against Russia during the invasion of Ukraine. Now, those comments were echoed by the spokesperson from China as well, who said America's actions infringe on the rights and interests of other countries and threaten peace in the region. But in the last half an hour, we also heard from Michael Waltz, the American U.S. ambassador to the U.N. He's also Donald Trump's former national security adviser. He really used strong language, blasting Nicolas Maduro, repeating American allegations about his involvement in the drug trade and what America feels is his illegitimacy as the country's leader. Take a listen. Not only does Maduro's illegitimate regime openly cooperate and fund terrorist and criminal organizations, but it invites terrorist groups like Hezbollah, like the Iranian regime, militias like the ELN and FARC dissidents to operate openly within their territory, unimpeded and unencumbered. Yeah, so a number of states this afternoon calling for restraint from the U.S., but based on those strong comments from Michael Waltz, it seems that the U.S. has no plans to do so at this stage. And Mitch, there's also some new reporting this afternoon that the U.S. is moving more assets to the region. What more do we know about that? Yeah, that's right. New revelations today in the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. has moved a large amount of special aircraft, troops and equipment into the region in the last couple of days, including 10 Osprey aircraft, a C-17 cargo aircraft, as well as military personnel. And it comes as America confirms another strike on a small vessel in the eastern Pacific region. CBS reporting that the U.S. has now hit 29 alleged drug vessels since September, killing 105 people. In this latest strike, the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, shared a video of the strike saying that the U.S. conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a low profile vessel operated by designated terrorist organizations in international waters. He added one person died and it has to be said these strikes on vessels in the Pacific are one of the reasons that the U.S. is receiving a lot of criticism from the international community. Critics have even called these extrajudicial killings, saying the U.S. is not providing enough evidence that they are actually terrorists on board these vessels. Mitch, thanks for this. That's journalist Mitch McCann at the United Nations.

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