Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, said that US allegations related to narcotics trafficking, democracy, and human rights were untrue and 'energy greed' particularly US interest in Venezuelan oil — is the real driver of external pressure.
Speaking during a live broadcast on state television VTV, Rodriguez said, “We are an energy powerhouse, we truly are. It has brought us tremendous problems, because you all know that the energy greed of the North wants the resources of our country.”
Rodriguez’s remarks followed statements by President Donald Trump, who asserted that the US is receiving full cooperation from Venezuela’s government and will maintain influence over the country and its oil reserves for years. “They're giving us everything that we feel is necessary,” Trump told The New York Times.
Earlier, Rodriguez defended Venezuela’s plans to sell oil to Washington, but said that the US military operation to depose her predecessor left a “stain” on the countries’ relations. “There is a stain on our relations such as had never occurred in our history,” she said.
She added, however, that it was “not unusual or irregular” to trade with the United States now, following the announcement by state oil firm PDVSA that it was in negotiations to sell crude to the US.
The Trump administration has so far indicated it intends to support Rodriguez and sideline opposition figures, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, though it has given few details about its plans.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted on Wednesday, after meeting with lawmakers critical of post-Maduro planning, that the United States was “not just winging it.”
So far, the US plan relies heavily on what Trump said on Tuesday was an agreement for Venezuela to hand over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States for sale.
Trump said that under the deal, Venezuela “is going to be purchasing ONLY American-made products with the money they receive” from the oil. This would include agricultural products, machinery, medical devices, and energy equipment.
Rubio added that in a second “recovery” phase, US and Western companies would gain access to the Venezuelan market and “at the same time, begin to create the process of reconciliation nationally within Venezuela.”
