The Permanent Mission of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations denounced this Tuesday the escalation of hostile actions and threats by the United States government. Which now include the deployment of vessels such as the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie and the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Newport News in the Caribbean region.
Venezuela described this presence as an act of intimidation contrary to the letter and spirit of the United Nations Charter. It establishes that states must refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
Caracas recalled that Latin America and the Caribbean were declared a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone by the 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco. Protocol II of which was ratified by the United States in 1971, “committing to fully respect the denuclearized nature of the region and not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against the States Parties to said treaty.”
In this regard, the communique warns that “the entry of a nuclear submarine into the region, without transparency regarding its cargo or rules of use, violates the object and purpose of this legally binding instrument and erodes collective confidence in the validity of the regional denuclearization regime.”
The Treaty of Tlatelolco (1967), officially known as the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, was signed in Mexico City on February 14th, 1967, and established Latin America and the Caribbean as the first nuclear-weapon-free zone in a densely populated region.
In it, the signatory countries committed to using nuclear energy for the benefit of humanity and promoting nuclear disarmament. Renouncing the testing, use, manufacture, possession, or control of any nuclear weapons.
“The presence of a nuclear submarine, of an offensive nature, in the Latin American and Caribbean region contradicts the historic commitment of our nations and peoples to disarmament and the peaceful resolution of disputes, and represents a clear act of intimidation. Contrary to the letter and spirit of the United Nations Charter,” said the Permanent Mission of Venezuela to the UN.
The Venezuelan mission also recalled the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace. Adopted by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in 2014 and recognized by the United Nations.
Venezuela, a State Party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), issued an urgent call to preserve regional peace, security, and stability.
The note from the Venezuelan permanent mission to the United Nations demands the immediate cessation of the US military deployment in the Caribbean. Including the nuclear submarine USS Newport News, and demanded clear and verifiable guarantees from the United States that it will not deploy or threaten to use nuclear weapons in the region.
Furthermore, it calls on all United Nations member states “to support respect for the denuclearized nature of Latin America and the Caribbean and to defend CELAC’s proclamation of the region as a zone of peace.”
With information from Cubadebate
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