Iran, Venezuela foreign ministers discuss US actions in Caribbean

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Venezuelan counterpart Yhil Pinto held a phone conversation to discuss US activities in the Caribbean, Caliber.Az reports, citing Araghchi’s Telegram channel.

Araghchi described threats of military action against Venezuela and interference with shipping as “blatant violations of international law and the UN Charter.” Pinto expressed gratitude to Tehran for its support and solidarity “in the face of unlawful and unjust threats and sanctions from the United States.”

Both ministers emphasised the importance of strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation in international forums to counter unilateral actions and safeguard the sovereignty of nations.

The latest U.S. actions in the Caribbean centre on an escalating pressure campaign against Venezuela under President Donald Trump, framed as counter-narcotics operations but widely seen as targeting Nicolás Maduro's regime and its oil revenues. Since September 2025, the U.S. has conducted over two dozen lethal strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing around 100–104 people and destroying 29 boats.

On December 17, Trump ordered a "total and complete blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, aiming to disrupt the "shadow fleet" evading G7 price caps.

On December 20, a second tanker, the Panama-flagged Centuries (carrying around 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude), was interdicted in international waters east of Barbados in a pre-dawn Coast Guard operation with War Department support.

By Khagan Isayev