Mexico calls on UN to tamp down U.S.-Venezuela tensions, as China criticizes 'bullying' of its ally

Mexican chair Claudia Sheinbaum on wed asked the United Nations to move to avoid gore in republic of venezuela.

Sheinbaum said during a morning news conference that Mexico is against intervention and foreign interference in Venezuela.

"I call on the United Nations to fulfil its role. It has not been present. It must assume its role to prevent any bloodshed," she said.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered a blockade of all oil tankers under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela — a move that the government of President Nicolás Maduro called a "grotesque threat."

Sheinbaum also advocated for dialogue and de-escalation between Venezuela and the U.S., and offered Mexico as a host of any potential negotiations or meetings between the two countries.

"The entire world must ensure that there is no intervention and that there is a peaceful solution," she added.

U.S. Tensions with Venezuela have escalated as Trump has moved thousands of troops and nearly a dozen warships — including an aircraft carrier — to the areas surrounding Venezuela's Caribbean shores.

Venezuela's ambassador to the United Nations will denounce Trump's threat there, according to the statement, which was shared by Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez, who is also Venezuela's oil minister.

Maduro's government has alleged that the U.S. Military aims to control Venezuela's vast oil reserves.

It is unclear how Trump would impose his announced blockade against sanctioned vessels, and whether he will turn to the U.S. Coast Guard to interdict vessels. The U.S. Last week seized a supertanker near Venezuela.

In a call with his Venezuelan counterpart on Wednesday, China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, said it opposes "unilateral bullying" and supports countries in safeguarding their own sovereignty.

Wang said in a phone call with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil that China and Venezuela are strategic partners, and that mutual trust and support are a tradition of bilateral ties, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.

"China believes the international community understands and supports Venezuela's position in defending its legitimate rights and interests," he said.

Trump’s Venezuela endgame: ‘This could be very ugly’

China was among a few countries to react Wednesday with criticism to the blockade announcement.

China's stake in the issue is considerable. It has been the destination for between 55 per cent and 90 per cent of Venezuela's monthly oil exports, compared with 40 per cent to 60 per cent last year.

Analysts have warned that Venezuelan supplies in China could be reduced in February if tankers currently loaded and waiting in Venezuelan waters are unable to depart.

Since the U.S. Seized the large crude carrier Skipper last week, only Chevron-chartered tankers, which operate under U.S. Authorization, have set sail without delays.

At least half a dozen tankers have turned around since last week to avoid approaching the Caribbean Sea, which is heavily patrolled by U.S. Vessels, according to data on TankerTrackers.com.

By the time the U.S. Moved to seize the Skipper, which had carried oil under sanctions from Venezuela and Iran, state-run company PDVSA was already struggling to allocate its crude close to contract prices due to a growing flood of oil under sanctions to its main market, China.

More than nine million barrels of Venezuelan oil remain stuck in vessels in Venezuelan waters, traders and a company source said this week.

Germany also warned against any steps that would jeopardize peace and security in the region, said a foreign ministry spokesperson.

"The German government has an interest in preventing the situation in the region from deteriorating further. We are therefore viewing the overall situation with concern," the spokesperson said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Since midsummer, the Trump administration has doubled a reward leading to the capture of autocratic leader Maduro — who remains in power after a 2024 election not considered free by the U.S. And most Western countries. And it has conducted a series of controversial, deadly strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats it links to Maduro's administration.

The Trump administration, in a notice to Congress under the War Powers Act, has said the U.S. Military is engaged in "a non-international armed conflict" and that those on the drug-carrying boats can be considered enemy combatants.

It is estimated around 95 people have died in the strikes, and the revelation that two survivors of an initial strike on Sept. 2 were subsequently killed in a followup strike has caused an outcry on Capitol Hill.

The legality of the overall campaign has been questioned by nearly all Democrats and a small group of Republicans, and the U.S. Legislators have complained that it has come without the authorization of Congress. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and other high-placed military leaders have given little information on the occupants or cargo on the boats, some legislators have complained.

As well, several strikes have occurred far from the coast of Venezuela — in Pacific waters.

Hegseth and the administration have lashed out at a handful of Democratic lawmakers who last month released a video advising service members that they can decline unlawful orders, without specifically citing the Venezuelan campaign.

The Trump administration rationale has also been questioned by drug policy experts, given that it is fentanyl that has been linked to a dramatic rise in American drug toxicity deaths over the past decade.

Mexico is viewed as the primary source of fentanyl that arrives in the U.S., often smuggled through border points, with most fentanyl precursors originating in China.

Venezuela is seen as largely a transit country for South America's bigger cocaine producers.

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