Venezuela raised a direct accusation on Sunday: According to Nicolas Maduro’s government, the United States will attempt to seize the country’s “vast oil reserves” “through the use of lethal military force.” The complaint – sent in the form of a letter to the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and member states (OPEC+) – comes at a time of maximum tension between Caracas and Washington, with increasing military deployment in the Caribbean and the virtual closure of Venezuelan airspace. “The world knows well the harmful consequences resulting from the military interventions of the United States of America and its allies in other oil-producing countries,” Maduro wrote.
The complaint is a new reaction to Donald Trump’s moves, but this time it has placed at the center of the canvas a central element that irreparably disciplines the entire movement: the largest reserve of crude oil on the planet. Caracas interprets the US military deployment and the pressure strategy it is implementing against the Chavez regime as a pressure maneuver on its oil industry. The letter, addressed to the more than 20 countries that make up the two organizations, is a warning, but also an attempt to add international support in the face of a conflict that, according to the Venezuelan government, threatens the energy balance of the entire region.
In the letter sent to Haitham Al-Ghais, the Chavista leader states that since August, the United States has carried out a “campaign of harassment and threats,” involving more than 14 warships, 15,000 soldiers and more than 20 bombings “against small boats,” which, it reads, led to the “extrajudicial killing” of more than 80 people. “Likewise, during all these months, there have been clear and persistent threats to use force against Venezuelan territory by the American authorities,” the text reads.
As has become customary in recent weeks, Maduro issued a message of resistance: “Venezuela will remain steadfast in defending its natural energy resources and will not submit to any type of blackmail or threat.” He appeals to OPEC members to help stop “the aggression that is brewing with increasing force and seriously threatens the balance of the international energy market.”