UN Security Council Emergency Session on U.S. Military Operations in the Caribbean
These operations, conducted in international waters near Venezuela’s coast, resulted in 21 fatalities according to U.S. accounts.
AMERICAS — Venezuela’s government requested an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council on October 10 to address U.S. military actions in the Caribbean, which Venezuelan officials described as threats to regional stability.
The request was conveyed through a letter from Venezuela’s UN Ambassador Samuel Moncada to Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, the Security Council president at the time. The letter highlighted concerns over U.S. strikes on vessels suspected of involvement in drug trafficking, according to U.S. reports.
These operations, conducted in international waters near Venezuela’s coast, resulted in 21 fatalities according to U.S. accounts. The session occurred on October 10 at the United Nations’ headquarters in New York.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro characterized the actions as a pretext for aggression aimed at a government change and resource exploitation, while U.S. authorities maintained the strikes targeted narco-terrorism networks.
The letter from Moncada indicated that the U.S. operations posed a risk of armed conflict, with potential impacts on regional and international stability. Maduro, in public statements, rejected U.S. allegations of Venezuelan military involvement with drug cartels, affirming the forces’ commitment to sovereignty and indicating preparedness to declare a state of emergency in response to further developments.
This followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration of an armed conflict with drug cartels, leading to increased maritime presence in the Caribbean. On October 8, the U.S. Congress rejected legislation that would have restricted executive authority for lethal force against such groups.
The events coincided with the announcement of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on October 10.
