Venezuela Accuses US Of Waging "Undeclared War", Urges UN Probe

Venezuela on Friday accused the United States of waging an "undeclared war" in the Caribbean and called for a United Nations investigation into American strikes that killed over a dozen alleged drug traffickers on boats in recent weeks.

Washington has positioned warships in international waters off Venezuela's coastline, supported by F-35 fighter jets deployed to Puerto Rico as part of what it describes as an anti-drug operation.

"This is an undeclared war, and we're witnessing how individuals, regardless of whether they are drug traffickers, have been executed in the Caribbean Sea. Executed without any right to defense," Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez stated while overseeing a military exercise responding to the US "military threat."

Attorney General Tarek William Saab later added that "using missiles and nuclear weapons to murder defenseless fishermen on small boats constitutes crimes against humanity that require investigation by the UN."

Foreign Minister Yvan Gil took to Telegram urging the UN Security Council "to demand the immediate cessation of US military actions in the Caribbean Sea."

The largest US naval deployment in the Caribbean in decades, combined with strikes on alleged drug vessels, has intensified concerns that the United States may be planning to attack Venezuelan territory.

On Wednesday, Venezuela initiated three days of military exercises on its Caribbean island of La Orchila in response to the perceived threat from a US flotilla consisting of seven ships and a nuclear-powered submarine.

La Orchila is situated near the area where US forces intercepted and detained a Venezuelan fishing vessel for eight hours over the weekend.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the United States accuses of operating a drug cartel, has encouraged citizens to participate in militia training to "defend the homeland."

Late Thursday, he announced that troops would provide weapons training to residents in low-income neighborhoods.

Maduro, for whom Washington has offered a $50 million bounty on drug trafficking charges, suspects the Donald Trump administration is planning an invasion.

Trump has claimed US forces have "knocked off" three boats crossing the Caribbean, though Washington has only released details and video footage of two strikes that killed 14 people described by the US leader as "narco-terrorists."

Washington maintains that its operations are part of its war against drug trafficking and dismisses questions regarding the legality of conducting strikes in international waters.

Trump has attempted to increase pressure on Maduro, whom the United States and much of the international community do not recognize as Venezuela's legitimate president following two contested re-elections.

Maduro accused the United States of developing "an imperial plan for regime change and to install a US puppet government... to come and steal our oil."

He has repeatedly affirmed that Caracas will exercise its "legitimate right to defend itself" against US aggression.

Opposition figure Henrique Capriles, a two-time presidential candidate and vocal Maduro critic, said Friday he would not support any US invasion.

"I continue to believe that the solution is not military, but political," he stated.