Legal Experts Hold OAS Accountable for U.S. Military Actions Against Venezuela and the Caribbean

Original article: Juristas emplazan a la OEA por acciones militares de EEUU contra Venezuela y el Caribe

In an open letter addressed to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Albert R. Ramdin, a coalition of legal professionals from around the globe has called out the regional body for the ongoing violations of international law committed by the United States, including breaches of the OAS Charter, through its military actions in the Caribbean.

«The undersigned legal experts wish to express our firm condemnation and alarm regarding the militaristic intervention of the United States in the Caribbean region, particularly its actions against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and the announced intention to close Venezuela’s airspace by Trump,» the letter states.

«These actions are clear acts of interference, imposing unilateral coercive measures, and represent a direct aggression that infringes upon the sovereignty and the right to self-determination of the Venezuelan people, posing risks to the entire Caribbean region,» the publication reads.

In this context, the jurists recalled that, according to a report by a group of UN experts, U.S. attacks on ships in the Caribbean, off the coast of Venezuela, amount to ‘extrajudicial executions’ and constitute an international crime.

«The situation has reached intolerable levels, evidenced by the recent suspension of international flights following the U.S. warning about ‘increasing military activity,’ and statements from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, absurdly attempting to label the supposed ‘Cartel of the Suns’ as a terrorist organization to create new justifications for the openly declared intention of the Trump administration to seize Venezuelan oil,» the letter further adds.

Violation of International Principles and Treaties

According to the signatory jurists, the actions taken by the Trump administration in the Caribbean openly contravene essential principles enshrined in various international instruments, such as:

–UN Charter (arts. 2.1 and 2.4): Asserts sovereignty and prohibits the use of force.

–Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes (Resolution A/RES/37/10, 1982): Establishes that disputes must be resolved based on the sovereign equality of states and prohibits the threat or use of force, as well as unilateral coercive measures and military deployments.

–International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Resolution 2200 A (XXI), 1966): Obligates states to uphold rights, prevent violations by third parties, investigate and sanction breaches, and provide reparations for victims.

–International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (Resolution 45/158, 1990): Commits states to protecting the dignity and rights of migrants, preventing situations where migration is the only survival option.

–Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961): Guarantees the inviolability of heads of state.

–Resolution 2444 (XXIII) 1968: Limits methods of warfare, prohibiting attacks on civilian populations.

–UN Resolution 2675 (XXV) 1970: Prohibits coercive acts against the political independence of states and encourages activities aimed at undermining another state’s internal order.

-Treaty of Tlatelolco (1967) for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean: Although the United States is not a party, it ratified the Additional Protocol II, committing to respect the denuclearization of the region and not to use nuclear weapons against member countries.

-Article 7 of the Rome Statute regarding crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

«We remind you that, according to the II CELAC Summit in 2014, Latin America and the Caribbean have been declared a zone of peace, and we repudiate any militaristic actions that jeopardize the lives of its people,» the jurists stated.

Violation of the OAS Charter

The professionals finally warned that the interventions ordered by Donald Trump also constitute a violation of the OAS Charter itself, particularly concerning the objectives stated in Article 2 and the principles outlined in Article 3.

They also made the following appeals:

-We demand the unfettered respect for International Law, and that bilateral and multilateral treaties, as well as the UN Charter, be the only valid way for the peaceful resolution of disputes.

-We call upon the international legal community to monitor and report violations of International Law that threaten the stability of the Caribbean and the world to the competent authorities.

-We express our rejection of the recent extrajudicial executions carried out in the Caribbean Sea by U.S. forces, which violate human rights and international law.

-We urge the Government of the United States to cease its military operations in the Caribbean Sea and stop the threats against Latin America.

-We demand that governments take a clear stance of condemnation against violations of International Law and the escalation of violence against Venezuela and the region.

–We reaffirm that lasting peace can only be built on the basis of social justice, equity, and full respect for human rights and international law.

«We make an emphatic call to the General Secretariat of the OAS and all member states to express categorical rejection of these actions, as silence undermines and puts at risk the very existence of the regional bloc, deteriorating the foundations that justified its creation, allowing actions that terminate the peaceful status of Latin America, which are currently aimed at Venezuela but will continue against other countries in the region, as announced by Donald Trump from the beginning of his mandate,» the letter adds.

«Therefore, we also require that an urgent meeting of Foreign Ministers be called for the aforementioned purposes. The leaders of the member countries have the duty to demand peace from the unilaterally aggressive government, namely the United States, in defense of the interests of the peoples of America and the world,» the letter concludes.

The Citizen