View of the Federal Capitol Building, headquarters of the National Assembly of Venezuela. Photo: Venezuelan National Assembly/File photo.
In a session convened on Monday, the Venezuelan National Assembly announced the activation of the attorney general’s office to complement the investigation into the murders of Venezuelans and Latin Americans in Caribbean waters.
The speaker of parliament, Jorge RodrĂguez, announced that a special National Assembly commission will also be formed to address the case.
Extrajudicial executions
RodrĂguez said the events carried out by the US government were under the pretext of combating drug trafficking in the region.
Sunday, in a press conference, he described these accusations as “a great slander against Venezuela,” noting that US military operations in the region seek regime change.
The parliamentarian also reported that relatives of the victims have received threats to prevent them from publicly condemning what happened. Cases of harassment were reported in the town of GĂĽiria, Sucre state, “so that they do not tell the truth, and the facts are not clarified,” he explained.
So far, over 80 people have been killed without conclusive evidence of their involvement in drug trafficking. These executions have been described as extrajudicial by the United Nations.
Meanwhile, the US government accused President Nicolás Maduro of leading an alleged drug cartel, even declaring the nonexistent Cartel de los Soles as an international terrorist organization, to justify imperialist intervention.
In response to these accusations, Venezuelan authorities have presented a united front repudiating the confrontational framework imposed by Washington.
Support for victims’ families
RodrĂguez added that the National Assembly will request a meeting with the executive branch and the governor of Sucre state to outline support strategies for the families of those killed.
He also reported that the prosecutor’s office and the executive branch will activate the necessary protection measures for these affected families and communities.
International organizations inaction
RodrĂguez questioned the lack of intervention by the International Criminal Court and its silence regarding the crimes reported in the Caribbean, presenting two reports from US media outlets that covered these operations.
As an example, he cited The Washington Post, which reportedly cited sources saying that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gave a verbal order to “kill them all” in the first US attack on what Washington calls a “narco-boat” in the Caribbean Sea. The initial attack took place on September 2.
“For minutes, the commanders watched the vessel burn in a live drone feed. As the smoke cleared, they were met with a shock: two survivors clung to the smoldering wreckage. The Special Operations commander overseeing the offensive ordered a second attack to comply with Hegseth’s explicit verbal instructions, the sources said, adding that the two men were blown to pieces in the water,” reported the US news outlet.
Finally, RodrĂguez stated that “the truth about Venezuela is in the streets and is indisputible,” referring to the popular mobilization that supports the government’s accusations.
The investigation occurs within a context of unprecedented regional tension due to US military deployment in the Caribbean, which Venezuela condemns as violations of international law and acts of aggression.
The situation also reflects the debate over the role of multilateral bodies such as the ICC, whose lack of pronouncement has been criticized by Venezuelan authorities. This is in conjunction with the lack of decisive actions by international human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch.
Undeclared war
RodrĂguez insisted there is an undeclared war between Venezuela and the United States. In his opinion, one of the motivations of the US congressmen and senators to now investigate the Trump administration’s killings in the Caribbean “is to safeguard US soldiers who find themselves in a conflict situation.”
He added that “if the US makes it normal to kill shipwrecked people, perhaps then other armies at war with the United States will consider that they have the same right to violate the Geneva Convention and its Protocol Number 1.”
“However, in this case, the situation is much more serious. There is an undeclared war, so we cannot speak of war crimes. There is no war, apparently. There is an alleged operation that no one believes in anymore, the supposed anti-narcotics operation,” he stated.
Increased fentanyl consumption in the US
RodrĂguez said the trafficking of illicit substances to the United States continues, given the increase in fentanyl consumption.
“If the supply has increased, it is because the trafficking of illicit substances to the United States continues. This is due to the simple reason that the current substance abuse epidemic in the United States is primarily due to an opiate, an opium derivative called fentanyl. This opiate, fentanyl, enters the US through the routes you know, and Venezuela has absolutely nothing to do with it, nor does Venezuela have much to do with the trafficking of substances to the US,” he added.
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He also insisted this entire fake US fight against drug trafficking is “simply a hoax to attack the entire Venezuelan people, to threaten the entire Venezuelan people, and to bring about a regime change.”
It is important to note that organizations such as the UN and the DEA have consistently reported that Venezuela is not a primary route for drug trafficking to the US, since more than 80% of the drugs circulating in the region enter through the Pacific route.
Russia, the UN high commissioner for human rights, and the governments of Colombia, Mexico and Brazil have condemned the US military operation. Experts describe the attacks on the vessels as extrajudicial executions that violate international law.
(Ăšltimas Noticias) by Ana PerdigĂłn with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
