UNSC Discusses Situation Off Venezuela, US Confirms New Strike in Eastern Pacific

Are U.S. actions near Venezuela overdue defense of national interests, or part of an unlawful operation designed to topple Maduro?

Published 7 hours ago·Updated 6 hours ago

UNSC Discusses Situation Off Venezuela, US Confirms New Strike in Eastern Pacific

story

+1

Above: General view of the U.N. Security Council meeting in New York on Dec. 23, 2025. Image credit: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-Trump narrative

Striking drug boats is the highest priority and best use of American military power after decades of prioritizing foreign interventions over threats in America's own hemisphere. Narco-terrorist organizations have killed tens of thousands of Americans through drug trafficking and operate as state-sponsored tools of asymmetric warfare against the U.S. Using military force against them is long overdue and reflects a necessary shift toward defending actual national interests rather than pursuing abstract global stability.

Real Clear Defense U.S. Naval Institute

Pete Hegseth on X

Anti-Trump narrative

U.S. boat strikes constitute extrajudicial killings with no credible legal basis, and have deliberately killed more than a hundred people without identifying victims or demonstrating any imminent threat justifying lethal force. Labeling drug traffickers as terrorists doesn't create an armed conflict or turn suspects into legitimate military targets, meaning that lethal force must be restricted to when strictly unavoidable to protect lives. The Trump administration has invented a war on drugs framework to justify summary executions with the goal of toppling Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro.

Common Dreams Human Rights Watch National Review