Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth seems ready to attack Venezuela. “We have every authorization needed. These are designated as foreign terrorist organizations,” Hegseth said in a Fox News interview on Oct. 5, reported Reuters. “If you’re in our hemisphere, if you’re in the Caribbean, if you’re north of Venezuela and you want to traffic drugs to the United States, you are a legitimate target of the United States military,” Hegseth said.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Oct. 5. They “expressed serious concern over the increasing escalation of Washington’s activities in the Caribbean Sea, which are fraught with far-reaching consequences for the region,” the Russian Foreign Ministry readout reported. “Sergey Lavrov said that Russia strongly denounces the recent strike by U.S. armed forces on a vessel in international waters near Venezuela.” The two ministers also warned “against attempts to interpret broadly the recently adopted UN Security Council resolution on reformatting the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti into a gang suppression force, so as to shift its focus towards countering the alleged Venezuelan drug-related crime said to be fuelling organised crime in the region.
“Lavrov reaffirmed Russia’s support and solidarity with the leadership and people of Venezuela. The ministers agreed to continue their close bilateral interaction and coordination of efforts at international platforms, above all at the United Nations, to ensure respect for the sovereignty of states and non-interference in their internal affairs.”
Reuters notes that legal experts and some lawmakers argue that using military force in international waters against alleged criminals bypasses due process, violates law enforcement norms, lacks a clear legal foundation under U.S. and international law and is not justified by the cartels’ terrorist designation.
