Venezuela accused the US of “great extortion” at an emergency session of the UN Security Council in New York.
Washington's seizure of two Venezuelan oil tankers was “worse than piracy,” Venezuela's ambassador to the UN said.
An emergency meeting of the Security Council was called to discuss the hijacking of tankers that occurred off the coast of Venezuela earlier this month.
The US also said it was pursuing a third Venezuelan oil tanker.
President Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of running a drug cartel and said gangs have operated with impunity for too long.
On December 16, Trump ordered a naval blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. The US President said the US would keep or sell the crude oil contained on the tankers it seized, as well as the vessels themselves.
The US has sent 15,000 troops to the Caribbean, as well as a number of aircraft carriers, guided missile destroyers and amphibious assault ships.
The stated goal of the deployment – the largest in the region since the 1989 US invasion of Panama – is to stem the flow of fentanyl and cocaine into the US.
The US has also attacked more than 20 ships in the Pacific and Caribbean in recent months, killing at least 100 people, as part of President Trump's campaign against gangs he blames for transporting drugs in the region.
Some experts believe the strikes could violate laws governing armed conflict.
Venezuela's ambassador to the UN said the US was subjecting his country to the “greatest extortion” in its history.
Speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Samuel Moncada said that “we are in the presence of a force that operates outside international law and demands that the Venezuelans leave our country and hand it over.”
Regarding the United States confiscating Venezuelan oil, he added: “We are talking about plunder, plunder and recolonization of Venezuela.
“The United States Government has no jurisdiction in the Caribbean.”
Referring to Venezuela's oil industry, he said: “What does this have to do with drugs?”
In response, US Ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz told the Security Council that the US does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.
“Maduro’s ability to sell Venezuelan oil enables his fraudulent claim to power and his narco-terrorism activities,” Mr. Waltz said.
While visiting a trade fair in Caracas, President Maduro said that “the Security Council's support for Venezuela is overwhelming.”
Russia and China accused the US of intimidation and aggression.
The United States “illegally destroyed” civilian ships in the Caribbean, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said at a UN meeting.
He warned that other countries could be next.
According to him, US actions against Venezuelan courts became “a model for future military actions against Latin American states.”
Meanwhile, China's UN representative Sun Lei called on the US to “immediately cease relevant actions and avoid further escalation of tensions.”
