Chinese Foreign Ministry Press Spokeswoman Mao Ning was asked in her Nov. 4 press briefing to respond to the Washington Post report that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has asked China, Russia, and Iran for military equipment (missiles, drones named) in the face of possible attacks by the United States. Mao stressed in response that a collaborative approach is required to actually shut down the drug trade.
“China has a clear-cut stance on the U.S. cracking down on so-called `drug cartels’ by force in the Caribbean Sea,” she stated. “China supports the effort of combating cross-border crimes through stronger international cooperation, and opposes using or threatening to use force in international relations. We stand against moves that undermine peace and stability in the Latin America and the Caribbean region, and oppose unilateral and excessive `enforcement operations’ against other countries’ vessels. We hope the U.S. will engage in normal law enforcement and judicial cooperation through bilateral and multilateral legal frameworks.”
She (politely) treated the question on military supplies for Venezuela as nobody else’s business. “Exchanges and cooperation between China and Venezuela” are part of normal “cooperation between two sovereign states, which does not target any third party and is not subject to disruption or influence from any third party,” was all she would say.
Pope Leo XIV also urged dialogue, rather than war, in dealings with Venezuela, when asked about the U.S. militarization of the Caribbean in a [brief exchange](https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/267585/pope-leo-xiv-urges-dialogue-on-venezuela-tensions ) with reporters the same day. “Tensions” are increasing, he worried. “Just five minutes ago I read some news saying that [warships] are getting closer and closer to the coast of Venezuela. I think that with violence we do not win. The thing to do is to seek dialogue, to look for a just way to find solutions to the problems that may exist in a country.”
Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy reported Nov. 5 on his X that Russia, while presiding over the UN Security Council in October, had sought to defuse the tensions building up around “the dangerous escalation in the Caribbean,” by proposing a draft UNSC Presidential Statement calling “for restraint and dialogue to resolve disagreements, a reaffirmation of the Zone of Peace in Latin America and the emphasis on cooperation to jointly counter drug trafficking and transnational organized crime.”
“Unfortunately,” one and only one Security Council member—"guess who,” he asked—"rejected this initiative, displaying no intention to de-escalate or to seek diplomatic solutions…. Those who reject diplomacy as the only way to solve contentious issues among countries will bear full responsibility for the fallout of their reckless behavior,” Polyanskiy warned.
