CIA, death threat and military planes: how Trump corners Maduro

Criticism of Nicolás Maduro’s regime, whether for ideological or security reasons, has always come up against the bilateral relationship due to oil trade. Chevron, the main US oil company, had been authorized by Joe Biden in 2022 to operate in Venezuela, but Trump interrupted this activity in February this year, canceling the company’s license. The vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, rejected the decision, claiming that, by intending to cause harm to Venezuelans, the act is “harmful and inexplicable” and also harms the US and its companies.

Venezuela highlights that this type of failed actions boosted migration from 2017 to 2021 with widely known consequences. Venezuela will continue its path of integral economic recovery, guaranteeing it with the creative effort of everyone and in absolute adherence to its sovereignty and national independence.”
Delcy Rodriguez, Vice President of Venezuela

US interests in Venezuela, according to the UnB professor, are obvious. “What prevents access to Venezuelan oil is the existence of Petróleos de Venezuela SA, which was reinforced during Hugo Chávez’s government. And, since then, the Venezuelan option of not having just one buyer’s market, interrupting privatization and controlling the natural resource, has created difficulties for its northern neighbor”, he recalled.

Pressure from the USA, for the professor, creates divisions not only in Venezuela, but throughout South America. For the researcher, this new move by Trump may indicate an attempt to create chaos and generate instability in Venezuela. And, as a consequence, generate panic among the population and weaken Maduro internally. “This is a constant test to feel the reaction of ‘international’ opinion, as well as the reaction of the region’s presidencies and organization.”

(With Jamil Chade, columnist at Facto News in Geneva, Beatriz Gomes and Agência Brasil)