Medact, the UK affiliate of International Physicians for Prevention Nuclear War (IPPNW) endorses the statement of IPPNW and affiliates, condemning the United States’ military actions in Venezuela which are contrary to International Law.
The United States’ growing militarisation of the Caribbean, framed under the pretext of anti-drug operations, is a dangerous escalation that must be unequivocally opposed. The armada of U.S. Navy ships that have been amassing off the coast of Venezuela since August 2025, cloaked in the rhetoric of combating narcotrafficking, is clearly intended as an instrument of intimidation. The scale of this military presence, coupled with the aggressive rhetoric from Washington, undermines any pretensions of neutrality or concern for drug control.
The US has long used the guise of “anti-narcotics” efforts to justify interventions across Latin America, and this latest show of force speaks to a more disturbing goal: regime change. The US military has already engaged in what the UN has condemned as extrajudicial killings, with missile strikes targeting boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. These actions are not about drug enforcement; they are about flexing the imperial muscle and asserting control over a sovereign nation’s affairs.
Venezuela, despite its internal problems, does not deserve to be the latest victim of American hegemony, nor does the region deserve to become a battleground for foreign powers. Washington’s approach, which calls for total submission or regime collapse under the weight of sanctions, blockades, and threats of military action, will only exacerbate the suffering of the Venezuelan people.
The real threat lies in the continued militarisation of the region and the push for war. This is a dangerous pattern, as we have seen before – nations are destabilised, economies are ruined, and ordinary people pay the price for political and economic imperialism.
Britain must reject any role in this aggressive interventionist agenda. We must demand an immediate cessation of military actions and sanctions, ensuring that Caribbean states are not turned into US military launchpads for further destruction. We cannot allow the rhetoric of ‘peace’ to disguise the true nature of this intervention, which is nothing more than the latest chapter in a long history of Western imperialism.
