Kampala, October 14, 2025 | By UG Diplomat

Venezuela’s Ambassador to Uganda, H.E. Fatima Yesenia Fernández Juárez, has called for concerted international action to counter what she termed as “provocative and unlawful” U.S. sanctions against her country.

Speaking in Kampala, the envoy accused Washington of weaponizing economic restrictions and escalating military pressure in the Caribbean, a move she said threatens regional stability and undermines the sovereignty of independent nations.

According to Ambassador Fernández, Venezuela has lost more than USD 642 billion over the past decade as a result of sanctions, including over USD 20 billion in frozen assets held in international banks. She added that despite a 99% decline in foreign currency earnings, Venezuela’s economy has shown remarkable resilience, registering 17 consecutive quarters of growth.

“These sanctions are a form of collective punishment against the Venezuelan people,” she told reporters at the Embassy in Kololo. “They violate international law and are designed to break our nation’s will to manage its own natural resources — oil, gold, gas, and minerals — for the benefit of its citizens.”

The ambassador also raised alarm over the deployment of U.S. warships, submarines, and fighter jets near Venezuelan waters, describing it as “an act of aggression” and a direct challenge to international peace and security.

Across Africa, the use of sanctions as tools of foreign policy has increasingly come under scrutiny. Several nations, including Zimbabwe and Sudan, have similarly decried sanctions imposed by Western powers, describing them as unjust and detrimental to development.

Ugandan scholars and policymakers argue that the issue goes beyond Venezuela — touching on a larger question of whether smaller nations can truly exercise their sovereignty in a global order dominated by economic and military superpowers.