High-ranking US officials have intensified their visits to Venezuela after, on the orders of US President Donald Trump, last month the Americans captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a special military operation in Caracas and brought him to New York for trial on charges of organizing drug trafficking, the Associated Press reports.
General Francis Donovan, Commander of the US Southern Command (Latin America), and Joseph Humeyer, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense, made an unannounced visit to Caracas on Wednesday, where they met with the Interim President of Venezuela, Delsea Rodriguez, as well as the Minister of Defense and Interior. US Energy Minister Chris Wright met with D. Rodríguez in Venezuela last week. On the other hand, John Ratcliffe, director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), did it already in mid-January.
As AFP notes, these visits underline Trump’s efforts to use military force and energy policy to force the Venezuelan government to carry out reforms, including the release of political prisoners. At the same time, political experts note that the intensification of contacts between the Trump administration and D. Rodríguez shows that the White House has decided to cooperate more closely with him, the vice president in N. Maduro’s administration, leaving Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado in the shade. In this regard, even the fact that MK Machado gave D. Trump the Nobel Peace Prize medal presented to her has not helped.
Sanctions and blockade
Venezuela and the United States severed diplomatic relations in February 2019. Both countries closed their embassies in the other after Trump publicly endorsed opposition leader Juan Guaido, who had declared himself Venezuela’s interim president.
On January 31 of this year, almost a month after N. Maduro’s capture on January 3, US Chargé d’Affaires Laura Dogu arrived in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, to reopen the US diplomatic mission. It happened one day after D. Rodríguez announced an amnesty decree for the release of hundreds of political prisoners – opposition politicians, journalists and human rights activists – the Associated Press reported.
On January 15, J. arrived in Venezuela. Ratcliffe, who together with a small team of US officials met with D. Rodriguez for two hours. The New York Times reported that the purpose of this visit was to lay the foundations for cooperation between the Trump administration and Venezuelan leaders. J. Ratcliffe is said to have discussed the potential economic cooperation between the two countries and warned that Venezuela should not allow US enemies, including drug-trafficking organizers, to stay there. The US Central Intelligence Agency played an important role in the operation to capture N. Maduro, providing important intelligence information. The administration also cooperated in a US drone strike on a dock used by drug cartels in a port in Venezuela.
Chris Wright arrived in Venezuela last Tuesday for a three-day visit to meet with Rodriguez, government officials and oil industry representatives. The purpose of his visit was to assess in person how to better realize the efforts announced by D. Trump to restore the efficient operation of the oil extraction industry in Venezuela, which, according to the same assessment, has the world’s largest oil reserves. Many experts, however, question this statement and consider it unproven.
D. Trump has emphasized that he wants to take control of Venezuela’s oil exports so that the US oil industry will especially benefit from participation in Venezuela’s oil production. “We will get oil in volumes that are almost unprecedented,” BBC quoted Trump as saying at a press conference after a meeting with the heads of energy companies at the White House in mid-January.
In line with Trump’s wishes, Venezuela has passed a law allowing private companies to invest in Venezuela’s oil industry. D. Trump, on the other hand, continues to cancel previously imposed sanctions that prohibited foreign companies from operating in Venezuela. D. Trump also wants to convince US big oil companies to invest in Venezuela. True, they do not show much activity, at least for now, because they consider the situation in this country too unstable. Some US and global companies had their investments in Venezuela confiscated 20 years ago in favor of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
K. Wright announced at a joint press conference with D. Rodriguez: “Today I have brought a message from President Trump. He is determined to completely transform the relationship between the United States and Venezuela – as part of a larger plan of action to make America great again, to bring our countries closer together, to promote trade, peace, prosperity, jobs, opportunity for the Venezuelan people.” The minister also said that the United States has ended the blockade of Venezuelan oil exports, allowing Venezuelan crude oil to be sold at a much higher price than before and the proceeds to be used in projects that benefit Venezuelans.
Trump is planning a visit
After this week’s visit by the US military, Venezuela announced that the two sides had agreed to cooperate in the fight against drug trafficking, the fight against terrorism and curbing migration. US Southern Command in a statement X stressed that they discussed how to stabilize Venezuela by strengthening common security in the entire Western Hemisphere.
D. Trump announced last Friday that relations with Venezuela and its interim president are “very good” and that he plans to visit this country, reports Reuters .
