Venezuela has accused the United States of the greatest extortion at an emergency session of the UN Security Council in New York.

Washington's seizure of two Venezuelan oil tankers was worse than piracy, according to the Venezuelan ambassador to the UN.

The emergency meeting was convened to address the confiscation of the tankers off the coast of Venezuela earlier this month, with the US also pursuing a third vessel.

President Trump claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro leads a drug cartel, arguing that gangs have operated without repercussions for too long.

On December 16, Trump ordered a naval blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers associated with Venezuela, stating that the US would either retain or sell crude oil from seized tankers and the vessels themselves.

The US has sent 15,000 troops along with aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers, and amphibious assault ships to the Caribbean. This deployment is the largest military presence in the area since the 1989 Panama invasion, with a focus on halting the trafficking of fentanyl and cocaine into the US.

In recent months, the US has targeted over 20 vessels in the Pacific and Caribbean, resulting in at least 100 fatalities as part of Trump's anti-gang campaign.

Some analysts argue that these actions may contravene laws governing armed conflict.

Venezuela's envoy at the UN, Samuel Moncada, described US actions as pillaging and recolonisation, asserting that the US exerts no jurisdiction over the Caribbean.

The US Ambassador to the UN, Michael Waltz, countered that the US does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate Venezuelan leader, claiming that Maduro’s oil sales bolster his hold on power amidst allegations of narco-terrorism.

During a visit to a trade fair in Caracas, President Maduro claimed that the Security Council was showing overwhelming support for Venezuela. Meanwhile, Russia and China condemned the US's actions. The Russian UN Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, accused the US of illegally destroying civilian vessels, cautioning that this pattern could threaten other Latin American states, while China's envoy urged the US to de-escalate tensions.