US strikes in southern Caribbean draws UN call for restraint News
Anonymous United States Navy photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
US strikes in southern Caribbean draws UN call for restraint

The United Nations on Thursday urged restraint following a series of US air and naval strikes in the southern Caribbean that have heightened tensions with Venezuela.

During a Security Council meeting, Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča stated that the UN cannot independently confirm US claims that the strikes targeted drug-trafficking vessels. He added that the events pose “mounting risks to regional peace,” and urged all sides to exercise restraint. Assistant Secretary-General Jenča affirmed that counter-narcotics efforts must comply with international law and the UN Charter.

Multiple strikes have been carried out since early September against vessels alleged to be transporting narcotics near Venezuelan waters. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, acting under the direction of President Donald Trump, has announced a new “counter-narcotics Joint Task Force.” He warned, “if you traffic drugs toward our shores, we will stop you cold.”

UN human rights experts have stated that a US strike on a vessel violated the right to life, asserting that the attacks lacked sufficient justification and may amount to extrajudicial killing. They emphasized that lethal force is permissible only in cases of imminent threat and urged a full, independent investigation.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has called the strikes “heinous crimes,” said he is prepared to declare a state of emergency if the US expands military operations in the Caribbean. Maduro accused Washington of seeking regime change with a naval build-up and stated that the measure would allow mobilization of the armed forces to defend Venezuela’s sovereignty.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Memphis Massacre of 1866 breaks out

The Memphis Massacre of 1866 broke out on May 1 of that year after Black Union veterans and police were involved in an altercation surrounding the arrest of a Black soldier. The ensuing skirmish spiralled out of control due to the racial tensions that followed the end of the US Civil War, lasting for two days and claiming the lives of 46 Black people and six whites.  The riot later cemented support for what would become the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Consitution, ensuring equal protection under the law. Learn more about the Memphis Massacre.  

Acts of Union creates Great Britain

On May 1, 1707, the two Acts of Union went into effect, implementing the Treaty of Union and thereby uniting the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The Union with Scotland Act was passed by the Parliament of England in 1706, and the Scottish Parliament promulgated the Union with England Act. Learn more about the Acts of Union from the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

First US trade union formed

On May 1, 1794, the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers (shoemakers) was organized in Philadelphia to negotiate wages for its members, becoming the first trade union in the United States. Learn more about the history of the labor movement in the United States, and visit the website of the AFL-CIO, the federation of America's labor unions, representing more than 13 million workers.