Pressure from the seizure of oil tankers in the Caribbean by the United States has forced Nicolas Maduro’s government to strengthen relations with China, Russia and Iran, its main trading partners and allies. Venezuela’s president has warned that the naval blockade in the Caribbean “will affect oil and energy supplies around the world.”
After the seizure of two ships and the persecution of a third by US authorities, seen by the White House as a war against “ghost ships”, China accused the United States of “violating international law” for what it called “arbitrary seizure of another country’s ships”.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Monday that his country “consistently opposes illegal unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and do not have the authorization of the United Nations Security Council.” And he added: “Venezuela has the right to independently develop mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries. »
China is the main destination for Venezuelan oil. Nearly 700,000 barrels per day of the 1.2 million that PDVSA currently produces are destined for this Asian country. Amid the blockade imposed by Washington, with increased surveillance of ships carrying sanctioned crude oil – not only that of Venezuela, but also that of Iran and Russia – Chavismo assured that it would continue its shipments and even mobilized escorts for the departure of tankers from Venezuelan ports.
Ties with Moscow
This Monday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil also had a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, during which they reaffirmed their ties. “Chancellor Lavrov confirmed his full support for hostilities against our country,” Gil wrote on his Telegram channel. “Russia will provide cooperation and support to Venezuela against the blockade, expressing its full support for those undertaken within the UN Security Council.” Gil also noted Iran’s offer of cooperation “in all areas” to combat “piracy and international terrorism” from the United States. Despite this, the Russian oil company PCL (which operated Rosneft’s assets) announced its final withdrawal from Venezuela at the end of December 2025, citing international sanctions which make it impossible to continue this withdrawal.
The tanker Centuries, confiscated on Saturday and which according to the White House is part of “the Venezuelan ghost fleet to traffic stolen oil and finance the narco-terrorist regime” of Maduro, transported Russian naphtha to Venezuela, necessary for the manufacture of fuel and the processing of heavy oil produced by PDVSA.
Support in Latin America
Maduro is also seeking support in the region. In a letter addressed to the leaders and heads of government of all Latin American countries, he denounced the fact that “the escalation of aggression by the United States” escapes international law.
For Caracas, the recent confiscation of two ships carrying four million barrels of crude oil constitutes an act of piracy. “There is no security in maritime navigation,” states the letter signed by Maduro and read by the chancellor this Monday during a press conference.
“These actions will not only have an impact on our country. The oil blockade will affect the supply of oil and energy, increase market instability and hit the economies of Latin America and the most vulnerable countries. Energy cannot become an instrument of war. We ask that together we condemn these actions and demand the immediate cessation of the military deployment, the blockade and armed attacks,” the text reads.
Venezuela and, in particular, the tensions it has had with the United States in recent months, have become a hot potato. Some countries have avoided rejecting military actions, so as not to confront the United States. Others, like Brazil and Mexico, have once again offered themselves as mediators in the crisis.
As part of the Mercosur summit last week in Foz de Iguazú, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Paraguay, Panama, Ecuador and Bolivia signed a declaration in which they underlined their commitment to “peaceful means” to restore democratic order and full respect for human rights in Venezuela. They made no reference to the United States or the American military deployment in the Caribbean. The declaration was signed neither by left-ruled Brazil nor Uruguay.
There are also serious fissures in the Caribbean, a region that Chavismo has managed to keep on its side for years through petrodiplomacy. The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, accused Caricom countries of supporting Nicolas Maduro’s “narcotyranny” this weekend. The official thus responded to criticism made by the alliance of countries on the partial travel restrictions imposed by Washington on the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda.
Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela’s neighbor, has provided considerable support to the United States and made its facilities available for recent U.S. military operations. This led Venezuela to break agreements for joint exploitation of gas fields.
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