The UN resident coordinator in Cuba, Francisco Pichon, said the humanitarian situation has reached a critical point following the US oil blockade imposed in January. He added that the population remains in need of urgent humanitarian aid despite an oil shipment from Russia in late March that the US administration chose not to interfere with.

Pichon explained that disruption of the country’s electricity system has further exacerbated the crisis, resulting in interruptions of essential services such as health care and water access. Electricity shortages have forced medical authorities to postpone over 96,000 surgeries and delayed immunization for thousands of children. Officials also noted that vulnerable groups, including elderly citizens, people with disabilities, and women, are the most affected by the humanitarian crisis.

Decreases in available energy, combined with the destruction from Hurricane Melissa, have significantly hindered humanitarian assistance from the UN and its partners. In response, the UN has created a targeted Action Plan to address the urgent needs of Cubans, focusing on delivering humanitarian aid in priority sectors such as health care, water, sanitation, and food security.

The Action Plan includes steps to transition toward sustainable energy sources and reduce oil dependence, such as the installation of solar power and the reinforcement of water pumping infrastructure.

Pichon said the UN continues to cooperate with national authorities and the private sector in Cuba to identify logistical solutions that guarantee the viability of aid operations, but that additional funding is still required to fill the $68 million gap in the UN budget.

Cuba has long experienced an economic crisis and energy shortage that have worsened over time due to US economic sanctions and oil embargo, which include the imposition of trade tariffs on third countries that send oil to the island nation. The blockade has triggered an energy emergency, given that Cuba currently relies on imported oil from Mexico and Venezuela.

The UN has condemned the US action, describing it as a “unilateral economic coercion” and a violation of international law.

Amid the tightening sanctions, Cuba has experienced repeated natural disasters, including hurricanes and earthquakes, resulting in significant infrastructure damage, destruction of homes, and the displacement of thousands.

From JURIST, April 7. Used with permission.

See our last report on the crisis in Cuba.

Photo: Виктор Пинчук via Wikimedia Commons

HRW said international law makes a clear distinction between areas where use of lethal force is lawful, explaining:

Outside of armed conflict, the deliberate, lethal use of force is only lawful when strictly necessary to protect life. Suspected criminals are not otherwise lawful targets for these deliberately lethal US strikes, and no information has been released to the public showing that any of the people targeted and killed posed an imminent threat to the life of any person.

The statement came in response to an announcement from the Pentagon’s Southern Command on March 25 that the US carried out a “lethal kinetic strike” on a boat allegedly engaged in drug trafficking. The strike killed three individuals, and was the 47th such strike the US has carried out on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September 2025, resulting in 163 total deaths.

The US has persistently built up military assets in the Caribbean amid recent tension with Venezuela, culminating in January’s Pentagon raid on Caracas in which President Nicolás Maduro was captured and brought to the US to stand trial. President Donald Trump and other US officials argue that the continuing strikes on small vessels have saved thousands from overdose deaths, but commentators and human rights organizations have noted the lack of evidence backing these claims.

From JURIST, April 2. Used with permission. Internal links added.

US Coast Guard via Wikimedia Commons

On Jan. 3, the Trump administration announced that it had conducted a raid on Venezuela, resulting in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. President Trump said he would “run Venezuela,” directing the country’s oil industry with the compliance of Maduro’s successors. Two days later, Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty in US federal court to charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons offenses.

Amnesty condemned the capture, stating that it was an unlawful use of force and violated the UN Charter, articles 2(3) and 2(4). Article 2(3) states that members shall “settle their international disputes by peaceful means.” Article 2(4) prohibits use of force, stating: “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”

Amnesty also stated that the US violated UN General Assembly Resolution 3314, which holds that “a state’s first use of armed force in violation of the Charter is prima facie evidence of an act of aggression, including bombardment or attacks on another state’s armed forces.”

Said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general:

Crimes against humanity do not end with Maduro’s removal. Venezuelan victims, survivors, and their families continue to carry physical and psychological scars. The fate and whereabouts of many people subjected to enforced disappearance remain unresolved. The state machinery responsible for those crimes is still firmly in place, now supported by the US authorities’ involvement…

Venezuelan victims have a right to truth, justice, and reparation for crimes against humanity they have suffered. We call on the International Criminal Court to expedite its work, including issuing arrest warrants when the evidentiary threshold is met. Justice delayed is justice denied, especially for Venezuelans who have waited years to be heard. However, the US administration’s actions currently make the prospect of any potential justice proceedings concerning Nicolás Maduro much more challenging and complex.

Amnesty called for adherence to the UN Charter, and for the US to cease lethal force against suspected drug boats, as well as the use of force or threat of use of force against Venezuela.

From JURIST, Feb. 4. Used with permission.

Note: Resolution 3314 has also been invoked to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Photo: USS Gerald R. Ford. Credit: US Navy via Wikimedia Commons

The court concluded that the government has violated the right to private and family life of the residents of Bonaire under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).

In regard to mitigation, the court found that while the Dutch Climate Act sets a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, neither the act nor its 2023 amendment set intermediate emissions-reduction targets. Both parties agreed that there was less than a 5% likelihood that the Netherlands could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 43% compared to 2019 by 2030. Given the failure to quantify its remaining emission allowance, the court concluded that the Netherlands’ mitigation measures do not satisfy its convention and treaty obligations.

The court also noted the lack of a climate adaptation plan, sufficient scientific research, and adequate financial resources for Bonaire. These inadequacies persist despite the government’s acknowledgment that Bonaire is particularly vulnerable to climate change.

In addition, the ruling found that the government did not provide sufficient procedural safeguards to Bonaire residents, including access to information and public participation.

The recent advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice significantly influenced the Dutch court in determining the state’s obligations in regard to climate change. In its judgment, the Dutch court affirmed that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement are legally binding on the Netherlands, alongside other regional and international human rights treaties. These treaty obligations include the duty to contribute equitably to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Apart from the right to private and family life, the court also held that the lack of adaptation measures for Bonaire, contrasting comparable measures already in place for the European Netherlands, amounted to discrimination against residents of Bonaire. This, the court found, violates Article 14 of the ECHR and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 to the Convention. According to Greenpeace, this ruling marks the first time that a court has recognized a state’s failure to develop climate policies for a municipality as discrimination.

Greenpeace brought the class action on behalf of approximately 26,000 residents on Bonaire. Responding to the ruling, Marieke Vellekoop, director of Greenpeace Netherlands, said that incoming prime minister Rob Jetten must now allocate funding for the mandated climate measures on Bonaire.

From JURIST, Jan. 29. Used with permission.

See our last reports on Bonaire, the UN climate process, and climate change litigation.

See also our podcast on the World Court advisory opinion.

Photo: Dialogue Earth

The order states that any judicial proceedings against funds from “the sale of natural resources” from the Venezuelan government would inhibit efforts to “ensure economic and political stability” in the country. It adds that they would interfere with numerous US foreign policy objectives, such as ending irregular migration, cracking down on the influx of narcotics, and protecting against foreign actors such as Iran and Hezbollah. It describes potential judicial processes as an “unusual and extraordinary threat,” and declares a national emergency.

There are three legal bases for the order, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives the president a broad range of economic powers in national emergencies; the National Emergencies Act, which allows the president to declare national emergencies; and Section 301 of Title 3 of the US Code, which allows the president to delegate powers.

This order follows statements from Trump that US oil companies will invest billions in Venezuela, with his Energy Secretary Chris Wright saying that the US will control and market Venezuela’s oil “indefinitely.” The president called a meeting on Friday with oil executives to discuss rebuilding the country’s oil infrastructure, and announced that 30 million barrels of oil, worth $4 billion, are currently on their way to the US.

The CEO of ExxonMobil, Darren Woods, expressed concern about conditions in Venezuela, and said that the country is currently “un-investable.” Trump responded angrily that he was “inclined” to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela.

Companies including ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips say that Venezuela owes them billions of dollars over lost investments. Trump’s executive order could hinder these companies from recovering their claims.

From JURIST, Jan. 12. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Map: Perry-Castañeda Library

Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.

Production by Chris Rywalt

We ask listeners to support us at one of our three tiers via Patreon: Become a Basic Supporter for just $1.25 per weekly podcast ($5 per month), or a Special Supporter for $2.50 per podcast ($10 per month), or a Major Rant Enabler for $6.25 per podcast ($25 per month). We now have 61 paid subscribers. If you appreciate our work, please become Number 62!

Image mash-up by Chris Rywalt, with material from Tamara Wyndham  and CBC

Did Delcy capitulate?
Meanwhile in Washington, White House officials were briefing members of Congress, who were not notified beforehand of the Jan. 3 military operation in which Maduro was captured.

And in Venezuela, Maduro’s groomed successor, newly inaugurated acting president Delcy Rodríguez, showed signs of capitulating to the pressure from Washington. After the Pentagon raid in which Maduro was taken (which also claimed the lives of at least 60 people, including civilians and several members of a Cuban security detail), Rodriguez defiantly stated in a televised address: “There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros.”

But the next day, she struck a conciliatory tone, writing on social media: “We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence.”

Bellicose mid-flight press conference
Rodríguez is under explicit threat from Trump, who told reporters on a Dec. 4 flight from Florida to DC that if she doesn’t cooperate “she will face a situation probably worse than Maduro.” When asked about his boast that he will “run” Venezuela, Trump responded: “We’re dealing with the people. We’re dealing with the people that just got sworn in. And don’t ask me who’s in charge, because I will give you an answer and it’ll be very controversial.” When the reporter took this bait and asked him what that meant, he replied: “It means we’re in charge.”

Trump was similarly lacking subtlety in his claim to Venezuela’s oil: “The oil companies are ready to go. They’re going to go in. They’re going to rebuild the infrastructure. You know, we built it to start off with many years ago. They took it away. You can’t do that.”

Apparently refering to Venezuelan efforts to extend state control over the country’s oil resources following US investment in the sector over a century ago, he added: “It was the greatest theft in the history of America. Nobody has ever stolen our property like they have. They took our oil away from us. They took the infrastructure away and all that infrastructure is rotted and decayed, and the oil companies are going to go in and rebuild it.”

And indeed, shares of Chevron, the last US oil company that was authorized to operate in Venezuela, soared as much as 10% in pre-market trading after Trump’s comment. Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips shares also rose around 4%.

Queried about his supposed isolationism and antipathy to “nation-building,” Trump explicitly invoked the notion of Latin America as a US influence sphere, which was articulated in his recent National Security Strategy. He said of Venezuela: “This isn’t a country that’s on the other side of the world. This isn’t a country like we have to travel 24 hours in an airplane. This is Venezuela. It’s in our area, the Donroe Doctrine.”

Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Greenland
He went on to directly threaten Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro: “He has cocaine mills, cocaine factories. He’s not going to be doing it very long.” So there will be another military operation?, the reporter asked. Trump: “It sounds good to me.”

Mexico was next. Invoking the flow of migrants across the US southern border, Trump reiterated his recent threat of military intervention: “Mexico has to get their act together, because they’re pouring through Mexico, and we’re going to have to do something.”

And even Greenland: “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security. And Denmark is not going to be able to do it, I can tell you. You know what Denmark did recently to boost up security in Greenland? They added one more dogsled. It’s true.”

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen prompty responded: “This is enough. No more pressure. No more innuendo. No more fantasies about annexation.”

And Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a statement: “It is necessary to reaffirm that in Mexico the people are in charge and that we are a free, independent and sovereign country. Cooperation, yes. Subordination and intervention, no.”

But Secretary of State Marco Rubio meanwhile warned that Cuba could be next, responding to a reporter’s question at a DC press conference: “Yeah, look, if I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned.” (PBS NewsHour, FreedomNews.tv, CNN, The Hill, Politico, NDTV, NBC News)

Photo: US Navy via Latin America Reports

Trump made the remarks during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He stated that the US would “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” without specifying a timeline. He emphasized the recent decline of Venezuela’s oil industry, saying that US oil companies would spend billions to repair the country’s infrastructure and bring in foreign exchange. He claimed to be acting in the interest of bringing “peace, liberty and justice for the great people of Venezuela,” including Venezuelans in the US who want to return to their home country. He added that the US would be prepared to “stage a second and larger attack” if necessary.

Trump described Maduro as an illegitimate dictator and accused him of overseeing drug trafficking to the US, threatening the stability of the region and causing suffering to American communities.

Maduro and his wife were indicted in the Southern District of New York in 2020. They are due to appear in federal court on Jan. 5, where they will be charged with “narco-terrorism conspiracy,” cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices, as well as conspiracy to possess such devices. They are currently being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, has been sworn in as interim president.

The US raid on the military base where Maduro was housed near Caracas took place at around 4:30 AM on Jan. 3 and lasted less than 30 minutes. He was first transported aboard the USS Iwo Jima to the US base at Guantánamo Bay before being flown to New York City.

The capture of Maduro has provoked strong reactions both in the region and internationally. Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Spain and Uruguay released a joint statement condemning the attack, describing it as an “extremely dangerous precedent.”

In contrast, Maria Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year and was prevented from running in the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, said that “the United States government has fulfilled its promise to enforce the law” and “we are ready to assert our mandate and take power.”

Under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, states are obligated to refrain from “the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.” The exceptions to this rule are self-defense and authorization by the UN Security Council. The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela stated after the raid that the “Maduro government’s longstanding record of grave human rights violations does not justify a US military intervention that breaches international law.”

Maduro came to power in 2013 after the death of his predecessor Hugo Chávez, under whom he had served as vice president. He was elected as president later that year, and again in 2018. He was most recently re-elected in 2024, despite accusations of interference with the election results and suppression of political opposition. He has been criticized for committing extensive human rights violations, including arbitrary detentions, inhuman treatment, and extrajudicial killings.

The raid on Caracas is the culmination of numerous measures that the US has taken against Venezuela over the past year. These include sanctions on oil companies operating in Venezuela, blockades on oil tankers, and strikes on vessels suspected of drug trafficking.

From JURIST, Jan. 4. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Map: Perry-Castañeda Library

“Venezuela has the right to independently develop mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press conference. Jian stated that China opposes unilateral enforcement of sanctions that lack “basis in international law” and infringe on the sovereignty of other nations.

US troops boarded and seized the Panama-flagged tanker Centuries on Dec. 20. According to the White House, while the ship was not on the US Treasury’s sanctioned vessel list, it carried state-owned oil as part of Venezuela’s “shadow fleet.” Reports have indicated that the Centuries was headed for China.

US President Donald Trump on TruthSocial wrote that the “Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION” (upper case in original), and has claimed it uses oil resources to fund human trafficking, drug smuggling, murder, and kidnapping. Trump has relied on this rationale to establish a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” to and from Venezuela. In fact, it is the so-called Cartel of the Suns, supposedly linked to the Venezuelan government, that has been designated a “foreign terrorist organization” (FTO) by the US State Department.

18 U.S. Code § 981 gives the federal government the authority to seize assets “of any individual, entity, or organization engaged in planning or perpetrating” a crime of terrorism.

This was the second Venezuela-linked oil tanker the US has recently seized. On Dec. 10, the US seized the M/T Skipper, which the Justice Department claimed was “being used in an oil shipping network supporting Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force,” two US-designated FTOs.

The US targeted another Panama-flagged Venezuela-linked tanker for pursuit in Caribbean waters Monday after it failed to stop following US Coast Guard attempts to board it. That tanker, the Bella 1, has also been named by the Treasury Department as “carrying sanctioned cargo” on behalf of designated FTOs. It reportedly escaped pursuit into the Atlantic Ocean.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has condemned the seizures, calling the US actions “piracy,” and claiming that Trump’s security justifications are a pretense to capture Venezuelan oil.

Tensions continue to rise between the US and Venezuela. The US has struck over 20 boats allegedly smuggling drugs from Venezuela (or Colombia) in recent months, killing over 80 people.

From JURIST, Dec. 23. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: VesselFinder

Venezuela entered 2025 under intensified international attention, after a wave of repression followed the July 2024 presidential election. Protesters took to the streets that month to challenge the confirmation of Nicolás Maduro’s victory. Security forces, led by the GNB, responded with mass detentions, violent crowd-control operations, and expanded surveillance measures. Human rights organizations documented at least 24 deaths during the early-August crackdown, and more than 2,000 detentions in the weeks that followed.

The post-election raids, known as “Operation Tun Tun,” marked a significant escalation, as authorities used “terrorism” and “incitement” charges to detain political activists, community organizers, and members of opposition parties, often without warrants. Many detainees were held incommunicado for days, denied access to independent counsel, and transferred to special counterterrorism courts whose procedures lack judicial guarantees. Human rights groups reported that children detained during the protests faced pressure to record self-incriminating statements, and families of detainees continued to experience harassment by security agents.

The GNB’s pattern of abuses first emerged in 2014, when nationwide protests over economic hardship and disputed elections were met with mass detentions and excessive force. Similar crackdowns in 2017 and 2019 entrenched these methods, as authorities expanded intelligence operations and used counterterrorism laws to target dissent. UN investigators say these repeated cycles formed a consistent state policy enabled by a justice system that rarely holds members of the the security forces accountable.

These developments have unfolded against broader concerns about the country’s detention system. Prisons and police holding cells remained severely overcrowded through 2024, with limited access to water, sanitation or medical care. Rights observers recorded preventable deaths linked to illness and malnutrition, while women in custody continued to report sexual abuse and coercion. Civil society organizations faced heightened restrictions as authorities applied the “Constitutional Law against Hate” to silence journalists and critics. New regulatory measures gave the government wider authority to intervene in or dissolve domestic NGOs, tightening the pressure on independent monitoring.

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) emphasized that these post-election actions fit within the documented pattern of violations attributed to the GNB since 2014. Over the past decade, the mission has identified recurring practices of arbitrary detention, torture and persecution based on political opinion or belief, supported by judicial structures that rarely investigate or prosecute abuses. Venezuela ranked last in the 2024 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, underscoring the deep-rooted nature of impunity in the country.

The UN Human Rights Council renewed the FFM’s mandate in October, despite the Venezuelan government’s continued refusal to grant it access to the country.

From JURIST, Dec. 12. Used with permission.

See our last reports on the post-electoral repression, and the protests of 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019.

After the 2019 repression, a UN report accused Venezuelan authorities of “crimes against humanity.” The UN has continued to document ongoing abuses since then.

Photo: Confidencial via Wikimedia Commons