As tensions rise with the increasing presence of United States (US) naval forces off the coast of Venezuela, Dominica’s President Sylvanie Burton has reiterated that the Caribbean is a zone of peace and called for the US and Venezuela to resolve their differences.

“I want to emphasise here today that there is no place in the Caribbean for war. The Caribbean is a zone of peace. Any military conflict in the Caribbean will have significant negative impacts on the Caribbean and Latin America. There is a better way to resolve differences, we urge the powers that be to find another way,” she said.

She made the appeal while addressing the general debate of the 80th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in New York on Thursday.

The United States has been building up naval forces in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela in what they said is an effort to crack down on drug trade in the region. However, the deployment paired with recent US strikes on alleged drug boats have stoked fears that the United States is planning to attack Venezuelan territory.

Venezuela has also accused the United States of waging an undeclared war in the Caribbean and called for a UN probe of American strikes that killed over a dozen alleged drug traffickers on boats in recent weeks.

READ: Venezuela accuses US of waging ‘undeclared war,’ urges UN probe