The Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity issued an statement on Friday in response to the deployment of “Operation Southern Spear” in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela’s coast. The organization warns that the arrival of the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, together with other U.S. military assets already stationed in the region, marks a fresh escalation under the pretext of a supposed anti-drug-trafficking mission.

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The organization urged the international community to condemn the move, arguing that this latest act of aggression could “escalate into a military confrontation against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, leading to a massacre and geopolitical destabilization across the Americas and beyond.”

According to the communiqué, Washington’s actions are aimed at undermining the legitimate government of President Nicolás Maduro and paving the way for a military intervention. It further says that the U.S.-driven “cognitive war” seeks to shift the balance of power in Latin America, seize Venezuela’s natural resources, and create a scenario resembling Gaza or Syria, with the potential for mass violence or civil war.

The letter calls for “the immediate withdrawal of the military deployment” and urges governments and multilateral organizations to help put an end to “this war-driven madness,” which it warns could spark a global conflict.

The appeal emphasizes the importance of defending “respect for international law, the self-determination of peoples, and the preservation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.”

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced “Operation Southern Spear” on Thursday, claiming that “The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it,” acting under direct orders from President Donald Trump. The operation comes in the wake of a series of attacks on vessels in the Caribbean that have left at least 80 people dead.

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