Venezuela: No to the 'war on drugs' as a pretext for U.S. intervention

Civil society organizations from Latin America and around the world working on drug policy, harm reduction, and human rights express our rejection of the use of the “war on drugs” paradigm by the United States to justify pressure, interference, and intervention against Venezuela and other sovereign states in the region under threat.

Regional experience clearly shows that this approach has failed and has produced devastating consequences: militarization, violence, the criminalization of marginalized populations, and serious human rights violations. Far from controlling drug production or supply, militarized interventions have not only failed to do so, but have paradoxically contributed to the consolidation and enrichment of organized crime. Latin America is well aware of these impacts and rejects the recycling of this paradigm to legitimize new forms of intervention.

In this context, the invocation of alleged scenarios of “narco-terrorism” is particularly dangerous. This notion, which lacks recognition as a valid category under international law, has historically been used to justify extrajudicial killings, covert military operations, and the expansion of U.S. criminal jurisdiction beyond its borders, without meeting international standards governing jurisdiction and the legitimate use of force.

Portraying authorities of one State as “fugitives” from the justice system of another and attempting to unilaterally apply domestic laws in foreign territory not only lacks legal basis, but also constitutes a serious violation of state sovereignty and the international legal order established under the United Nations Charter. No exception recognized under international law permits such actions, nor do international drug control treaties contemplate or authorize measures of this nature within the framework of global cooperation on drugs.

We acknowledge the serious human rights situation and the profound crisis of institutional legitimacy in Venezuela. These circumstances, however, do not warrant the suspension of international law nor the use of securitized approaches as mechanisms of intervention into state sovereignty. We reaffirm our solidarity with the Venezuelan people and reject external pressure and interference that undermine self-determination and establish dangerous precedents for the region.

As organizations working to advance drug policies based on human rights, harm reduction, and public health, we affirm that violence, coercion, and intervention have no legitimate place in responding to challenges related to drugs. The language of war replaces democratic deliberation with a logic of exception and normalizes practices incompatible with international human rights standards. When war becomes normalized, rights violations become invisible.

Respect for sovereignty entails the development of multilateral agreements anchored in shared objectives and transparent mechanisms, free from cost-shifting, risk externalization, or unilateral imposition.