Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has issued a strong warning over what Caracas describes as a “dangerous and unprecedented” United States military buildup in the Caribbean, accusing Washington of threatening regional peace, destabilizing the international order, and violating fundamental principles of international law.

In a formal message addressed to Latin American and Caribbean heads of state as well as all member countries of the United Nations, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil conveyed President Maduro’s concerns, stating that the ongoing US escalation in the Caribbean “poses a direct threat to regional stability and undermines the international legal framework governing peaceful coexistence among nations.”

According to the Venezuelan government, the United States has launched the largest aerial and naval deployment in the Caribbean in decades, ostensibly under the pretext of counter-narcotics operations. Caracas, however, maintains that the scale and nature of the deployment far exceed any legitimate anti-drug mission. The statement highlighted the reported presence of a US nuclear submarine operating off Venezuela’s coast, describing it as a clear threat of force and a serious violation of the United Nations Charter.

The Venezuelan government further accused US forces of carrying out at least 28 attacks on civilian vessels between September and December 2025 in both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. According to Caracas, these operations resulted in the extrajudicial killing of approximately 104 individuals, actions it described as flagrant breaches of international humanitarian law, maritime safety conventions, and basic human rights norms.

In addition, the statement denounced the seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers and what it described as a de facto maritime blockade aimed at strangling the country’s energy exports. These measures were labeled as “state piracy” and acts of economic warfare that endanger international maritime navigation, disrupt global energy markets, and interfere with lawful trade routes.

Venezuelan officials stressed that such actions not only target Venezuela, but also set a dangerous precedent that threatens the sovereignty of all nations in the region. Caracas called on regional organizations, including the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), as well as the wider international community, to take a clear stand against militarization and coercive measures.

President Maduro reaffirmed Venezuela’s commitment to peace, dialogue, and respect for international law, while warning that continued US military escalation risks dragging the Caribbean into a new cycle of confrontation. (ILKHA)