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Venezuela has accused the United States of the “greatest extortion” at an emergency session of the UN Security Council in New York. <\/p>\n
Washington’s seizure of two Venezuelan oil tankers was “worse than piracy,” the Venezuelan ambassador to the UN said. <\/p>\n
The emergency meeting of the Security Council was called to discuss the seizure of the tankers, which took place off the coast of Venezuela earlier this month. <\/p>\n
The US has also said it was pursuing a third Venezuelan oil tanker. <\/p>\n
President Trump has accused Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro of leading a drugs cartel and said gangs had operated with impunity for too long.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
On 16 December, Trump ordered a naval blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. <\/p>\n
The US president has said the US will keep or sell the crude oil it has taken, as well as the vessels themselves.<\/p>\n
The US has been building up its military presence in the Pacific and Caribbean Seas in recent months, sending 15,000 troops and a range of aircraft carriers and warships to the area. <\/p>\n
It is the largest deployment to the region since the US invaded Panama in 1989, and the stated aim is to stop the flow of fentanyl and cocaine to the US.<\/p>\n
The US has carried out strikes on what it says are Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats, targeting more than 20 vessels and killing at least 100 people. <\/p>\n
Some experts say the strikes could violate laws governing armed conflict.<\/p>\n
Venezuela’s envoy to the UN said the US was subjecting his country to the “greatest extortion” in its history. <\/p>\n
Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Samuel Moncada said “we are in the presence of a power that acts outside of international law, demanding that Venezuelans vacate our country and hand it over.”<\/p>\n
Regarding the US seizure of Venezuelan oil, he added: “We are talking about pillaging, looting and recolonisation of Venezuela. <\/p>\n
“The government of the United States does not have jurisdiction in the Caribbean.”<\/p>\n
Referring to the Venezuelan oil industry, he said: “What does that have to do with drugs?”<\/p>\n
In response, the US Ambassador to the UN, Michael Waltz, told the Security Council the US does not recognise Mr Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.<\/p>\n
“Maduro’s ability to sell Venezuela’s oil enables his fraudulent claims to power and his narco-terrorist activities,” Mr Waltz said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
On a visit to a trade fair in Caracas, President Maduro said “the Security Council is giving overwhelming support to Venezuela.”<\/p>\n
Russia and China accused the US of bullying and aggression.<\/p>\n
The US was “illegally destroying” civilian vessels in the Caribbean Sea, the Russian ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, told the UN meeting. <\/p>\n
He warned that other countries could be next. <\/p>\n
The US actions against Venezuelan vessels, he said, were “a template for future acts of force against Latin American states.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, China’s envoy to the UN, Sun Lei, called on the US to “immediately halt relevant actions and avoid further escalation of tensions.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n