Four United Nations human rights experts have condemned the United States’ blockade of Venezuela, calling it an illegal act of armed aggression and urging the US Congress to intervene.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday in Geneva, the experts said the Trump administration’s deployment of military forces in the Caribbean and the seizure of oil tankers amounted to an unlawful blockade. Washington has carried out the actions as part of sanctions enforcement against Venezuelan vessels.
“There is no right to enforce unilateral sanctions through an armed blockade,” the experts said, rejecting the legal basis offered by the United States.
They stated that a blockade constitutes a prohibited use of force under the UN Charter and described US actions as severe enough to qualify as illegal armed aggression under the UN General Assembly’s 1974 Definition of Aggression. Under Article 51 of the Charter, they added, Venezuela has the right to self-defense.
The Trump administration has accused Venezuela of using oil revenues to finance activities including drug trafficking, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping. Caracas denies the allegations, saying the United States is attempting to remove President Nicolás Maduro in order to gain control of Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world.
The experts also criticized US military operations at sea, saying strikes on boats in international waters since September have killed more than 100 people. The vessels were accused by US authorities of transporting drugs, a claim the experts said was made without evidence.
“These killings amount to violations of the right to life,” the statement said, calling for investigations and accountability. The experts urged Congress to intervene to prevent further attacks and to lift the blockade.
The statement was signed by Ben Saul, the UN special rapporteur on protecting human rights while countering terrorism; George Katrougalos, the independent expert on a democratic and equitable international order; development expert Surya Deva; and Gina Romero, the special rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and association. UN special rapporteurs act independently under mandates from the Human Rights Council.
On Tuesday, Venezuela requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, where it accused Washington of carrying out what it described as unprecedented extortion.
