UN experts condemn US naval blockade of Venezuela as illegal aggression

UN experts criticise US blockade for endangering human rights and call for an investigation into alleged violations.Published On 24 Dec 2025Four United Nations human rights experts have condemned the partial naval blockade of Venezuela by the United States, finding it an illegal armed aggression and calling on the US Congress to intervene.“There is no right to enforce unilateral sanctions through an armed blockade,” the UN experts said in a joint statement on Wednesday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Venezuela warns US ‘aggression’ is first stage amid ‘continental ambitions’list 2 of 3Venezuela passes law enacting harsh penalties for supporters of US blockadelist 3 of 3Trump warns Maduro not to ‘play tough’ as Russia, China back Venezuelaend of listThe US has deployed a major military force in the Caribbean and intercepted oil tankers as part of a naval blockade against Venezuelan vessels it considers to be under sanctions.A blockade is a prohibited use of military force against another country under the UN Charter, they added.“It is such a serious use of force that it is also expressly recognised as illegal armed aggression under the General Assembly’s 1974 Definition of Aggression,” the experts said. “The illegal use of force, and threats to use further force at sea and on land, gravely endanger the human right to life and other rights in Venezuela and the region.”US President Donald Trump accuses Venezuela of using oil, the South American country’s main resource, to finance “narcoterrorism, human trafficking, murders and kidnappings”.Caracas denies any involvement in drug trafficking. It says Washington is seeking to overthrow its president, Nicolas Maduro, to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world.Since September, US forces have launched dozens of air strikes on boats that Washington alleges were transporting drugs. It has yet to provide evidence for those accusations. More than 100 people have been killed.