Venezuela’s foreign minister said Wednesday that China pledged support for Caracas’ efforts to preserve peace in the Caribbean, quoting Ambassador Lan Hu as saying Beijing stood “in solidarity” as Washington pressed ahead with military strikes on boats it claimed were carrying drugs.
Foreign Minister Yvan Gil met with Lan in Caracas and described the message from Beijing as a significant gesture at a time when the United States had deployed warships and launched two deadly operations in less than a month.
Gil stressed that President Nicolas Maduro was committed to regional unity and to what he called an “authentic battle” against narcotics trafficking, but accused Washington of using military power for political ends.
The Chinese pledge came as Washington carried out a second strike near the Venezuelan coast, announced on Monday by US President Donald Trump. He stated that US forces had targeted a vessel in international waters carrying cocaine and fentanyl bound for the United States.
Three people on board were killed – and video footage, according to Trump, showed “big bags of cocaine and fentanyl” floating in the sea.
That strike followed an operation earlier this month that killed 11 people on a speedboat the US linked to Venezuelan cartels. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed the US would “track them, kill them, and dismantle their networks throughout our hemisphere”, adding that he did not rule out extending operations to land.
The administration argued the strikes were necessary to defend US security, pointing to gangs such as Tren de Aragua, which it has designated a terrorist organisation. Trump noted that fewer boats had been spotted since the first strike but warned that cartels continued to smuggle drugs by land.
“We’re telling the cartels right now we’re going to be stopping them, too,” he declared.
The operations quickly attracted criticism in Washington, where some lawmakers and rights advocates questioned their legality.
Democratic Senator Adam Schiff announced he was drafting a war powers resolution to block further military action without congressional approval, calling the strikes “lawless killings” that risked entangling the US in conflict with Venezuela.
Amnesty International warned that the attacks might amount to extrajudicial executions, while other rights groups faulted the administration for providing scant information about the legal grounds for the operations.
Maduro, for his part, accused Washington of deliberately seeking a military clash as a pretext for regime change. Earlier this week, he denounced what he called a US raid on a Venezuelan fishing vessel and suggested it was designed to spark confrontation.
“They were looking for a military incident that the warmongers who want a war in the Caribbean are seeking,” he alleged.
Beijing had become increasingly outspoken in its defence of Caracas. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian argued Thursday that “coercion and bullying only serve to push countries away and will increasingly not work”, adding that Latin America is “no one’s backyard” and has the right to choose its partners independently.
The remarks echoed other recent condemnations from Beijing, which has accused Washington of adopting an aggressive posture in Latin America and of pushing countries in the region into confrontation with China.
Commenting on threats from Washington against Venezuela, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning condemned in August the build-up and stressed that China opposed “any move that violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and a country’s sovereignty and security.”
She also urged the United States to “do more things conducive to peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean”.
The alignment reflected years of steadily closer ties between the two governments. In May, Gil, the Venezuelan foreign minister, met in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, who praised “Venezuela’s resilience in the face of sanctions” and promised deeper cooperation in agriculture, energy, trade and infrastructure.
Wang argued that both countries, as part of the Global South, should work together to oppose “hegemonic and bullying practices” and safeguard the interests of developing nations.
For Maduro, Beijing had become an indispensable partner to weather sanctions and counter Washington’s growing military pressure. At Wednesday’s meeting, Gil reiterated Caracas’ call for cooperation with Beijing and other nations in the Global South to tackle narcotics and external threats.
“Venezuela will continue its authentic battle against drug trafficking and calls for cooperation to face external threats,” he said. – SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
