Venezuela asks UN Security Council to say US strikes illegal

17/10/2025 7:31

Venezuela has asked the United Nations Security Council to determine that deadly U.S. strikes on vessels off its coast are illegal and issue a statement backing Venezuela's sovereignty, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday.



U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a large U.S. military buildup in the southern Caribbean, and the troops have conducted at least five strikes on vessels the Trump administration has described as involved in drug trafficking, without providing evidence.



In a letter to the 15-member Security Council, dated Wednesday, Venezuela's U.N. Ambassador Samuel Moncada accused Washington of killing at least 27 people in the strikes on "civilian vessels transiting international waters."



He asked the council to "investigate" the strikes to "determine their illegal nature" and issue a statement "reaffirming the principle of unrestricted respect for the sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity of states," including Venezuela.