On Thursday, the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodriguez, presided over representatives from more than 30 sectors at the National Council for Sovereignty and Peace, in response to Donald Trump’s threats against Venezuelan natural resources.
Rodriguez asserted that the external aggression perpetrated by the U.S. seeks to control oil, rare earth elements, and water, as well as to annihilate Venezuelan identity, which he compared to hate speech toward Jewish people in the 1930s.
The President of the Assembly noted that Venezuela desires peace based on freedom and sovereignty, not the peace of the submissive. He remarked on the virtues of courage and rebellion that do not serve the imperial hegemon.
The National Council unanimously approved a resolution condemning Trump’s statements and reaffirming its commitment to the Constitution and the defense of the resources and rights of the Venezuelan people.
Venezuela and China Discuss Regional Security After Trump Threatens Oil Blockade
On Wednesday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a telephone conversation whereby they analyzed the geopolitical situation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The call came in response to a threat by U.S. President Donald Trump late Tuesday to impose a blockade on oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela. The following is the statement issued by the Venezuelan diplomat regarding his conversation with Wang:
“Today I held a telephone call with the foreign minister of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Yi, to whom I conveyed a message from the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, addressed to the president of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping.
During the conversation, we reaffirmed the brotherhood between our peoples and governments, as well as the nature of the All-Weather, All-Conditions Strategic Partnership that unites Venezuela and China, as a foundation for continuing to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
We conducted a joint assessment of the threats and aggressions against Venezuela and the risks looming over Latin America and the Caribbean.
In this context, China expressed its solidarity and firm support for Venezuela in the defense of its sovereignty, independence, and stability, as well as its support for regional unity and respect for international law.
Finally, we reaffirmed our shared willingness to continue deepening the bilateral relationship for the benefit of our peoples.”
Delcy Rodríguez dismantles US narrative: “The looting and plunder will not return!”
Venezuela’s Executive Vice President and Minister of Hydrocarbons, Delcy Rodríguez, refuted on Wednesday the narrative being promoted by the Trump Administration, now voiced by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, that the nationalization of Venezuelan oil was a theft from the United States, which they intend to use to justify a naval and oil blockade of the South American nation.
Rodríguez began by recalling that Venezuela’s first oil company (Petrolia del Táchira, 1878) was founded with exclusively Venezuelan personnel. That, she emphasized, has been a “distinctive characteristic of our industry.”
The Executive Vice President of Venezuela stated that “the loopholes where the U.S. managed to control puppet governments to hand over our energy resources ended with Commander Hugo Chávez” and warned that “we will never again be an energy colony of anyone, nor of any foreign power that dreams of stealing our riches.”
According to the version being propagated by Miller, an ultraconservative Republican who has influenced some of Trump’s most extreme policies, the United States “created” Venezuela’s oil industry. He described the nationalization by Caracas as “the largest recorded theft of American wealth and property,” adding that the “looted assets” were used to “finance terrorism” and “flood our streets with murderers, mercenaries, and drugs.”
To this, Delcy Rodríguez responded that “what’s interesting about his statements is that, like a good criminal, he confesses his misdeeds” and emphasized that “there will be no oil given away or stolen for any foreign power.”
President Maduro Warns UN About Escalating US Threats Against Venezuela
The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, held a telephone conversation this Tuesday with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, to warn about the escalating threats against the country and their serious implications for regional peace and stability, the Venezuelan government reported in an official statement.
During the exchange, the head of state denounced to the highest representative of the multilateral system the recent public statements made by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, disseminated through social media, in which he openly stated in a colonial manner that Venezuelan oil, natural resources, and territory “belonged” to Washington. Maduro emphasized that these statements constitute a direct threat to national sovereignty, international law, and peaceful coexistence among nations.
The Venezuelan president also warned that these claims were echoed by high-ranking US officials, including Stephen Miller, who asserted that the Venezuelan oil industry also belonged to the United States, which—according to Caracas—confirms the existence of a doctrine of plunder and neocolonial domination against Venezuela. In this regard, Maduro emphasized that such positions must be categorically rejected by the United Nations system.
In his dialogue with Guterres, the Venezuelan president described the political, diplomatic, and economic siege the country faces, as well as the intensification of a campaign of falsehoods, military threats, and acts of force, which has included acts of modern piracy, such as the attack on a ship transporting legitimately traded Venezuelan oil. The president characterized these actions as part of a “diplomacy of barbarism,” contrary to the principles of international law.
Russia Warns Trump Against ‘Fatal Mistake’ in Venezuela
On Thursday, Russia urged U.S. President Donald Trump not to make a “fatal mistake” in Venezuela and warned of the unpredictable consequences for the Western Hemisphere that direct military action against the country could entail.
Over the past three months, the Trump administration has repeatedly threatened the possibility of carrying out military operations on Venezuelan territory, supposedly to fight international drug trafficking.
The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, however, has denounced that the true objective of the current U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean is to carry out a “regime change” to facilitate the appropriation of the vast natural resources of the Bolivarian nation.
In a context characterized by Washington’s military threats, Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned of the geopolitical consequences of U.S. actions in the following statement:
“We note that tensions around our friendly country of Venezuela continue to be deliberately and consistently exacerbated. The unilateral nature of decisions that threaten international navigation is of particular concern.
We hope that the administration of Donald Trump, which is characterized by a reasonable and pragmatic approach, will not commit a fatal error and will not fall into a situation that could lead to unpredictable consequences for the entire Western hemisphere.
We urge avoiding ideological narrow-mindedness, which constrains the understanding of what is happening. Today, the words of Simon Bolivar, the distinguished son of Latin America, remain relevant: every people has the right to choose its government, and other nations have a duty to respect that choice.
Samuel Moncada: “Gunboat diplomacy has no place in the 21st century”
The Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the United Nations (UN), Samuel Moncada, stated this Thursday that his country will defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence in all areas in order to ensure peace in the nation. He described as a grotesque offense, a violation of all civilizational norms, Donald Trump’s declarations that Venezuelan lands and oil belong to the U.S. and must be handed over immediately, because, if his orders are not obeyed, the most powerful navy in the world will impose a naval and air blockade.
Speaking at a UN session commemorating the International Day against Colonialism in All its Forms and Manifestations, Moncada demanded that the White House respect the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of sovereign equality, non-interference, and self-determination of peoples.
“President Trump intends to turn back the clock of history and impose a colony on Venezuela. No legal instrument can stand against this monstrous declaration,” the diplomat stated, asserting that “colonialism is a crime of aggression” and that the Trump Administration is imposing “chaos and destruction on international relations.”
In Moncada’s words, “gunboat diplomacy has no place in the 21st century” and “colonialism must be defeated to protect all countries of the world.” He added that “the continued existence of colonialism is incompatible with the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as it hinders social, cultural, and economic development and undermines the ideal of peace for nations.”