Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro welcomed recent comments by Turkey’s UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker, who condemned US military operations in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean as violations of international law. Maduro described the Turkish president’s position as a “step forward” in defending global justice and sovereignty, Lebanese Al-Mayadeen English-language website reported.
“Volker Türk, who we have often criticized, has made a fair and fortunate statement,” the Venezuelan leader said on the 96th broadcast of his “Con Maduro+” show, adding that UN officials had “condemned US operations in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean as violations of international law and extrajudicial executions.” The President added: “The High Commissioner has ticked the i. This is an important step in upholding international law.”
President Maduro went on to say that “those who defend human rights and condemn these crimes deserve to be listened to and engaged in dialogue.”
Turkey’s president in recent days condemned attacks carried out by the US military against small vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean, which reportedly left dozens of people dead, many of them civilians. He called the attacks “unacceptable” and said, “The United States must take all necessary steps to end these attacks and prevent the extrajudicial killings of those aboard these boats.”
According to France 24 and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Turkey’s president stressed that “no state can use deadly force with impunity outside its borders,” called on the United States to “respect international norms” and called for a “prompt, independent and transparent investigation” into the incident.
In response, the Venezuelan government publicly thanked U.N. officials and noted that Caracas has long condemned such U.S. actions in various international forums. The government noted that such operations often include “the destruction of civilian vessels under the pretext of counter-narcotics operations.”
In a televised address, President Maduro stressed that “the sovereignty of the Caribbean cannot be violated by foreign powers” and claimed that the Turkish president’s statement “opens the door to dialogue within the framework of respect for the peoples of the Global South” and represents “a sign of balance within the multilateral system.”
He reaffirmed Venezuela’s determination to continue reporting before the United Nations and other international organizations what he called “crimes committed by imperialism in Caribbean waters and everywhere else in the world.” President Maduro concluded by reiterating his government’s commitment to “peace, respect for international law, and regional cooperation.”
MNA