Venezuela responds to Trump’s oil blockade

In an official statement released late Tuesday, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Trump’s remarks revealed the “true intention” of the United States: “to take over the oil, land, and minerals of Venezuela.”

The government rejected Trump’s claim that Venezuela had “stolen” assets from Washington and denounced his rhetoric as “interventionist and colonialist.” The statement accused the US president of violating international law, free trade, and freedom of navigation by ordering US naval forces in the Caribbean to prevent “sanctioned tankers” from entering or leaving Venezuelan waters.

“Through his social media statements, the president of the United States assumes that Venezuela’s oil, land, and mineral wealth belong to him,” the statement said. “On that basis, he seeks to impose a naval military blockade with the objective of robbing the riches that belong to our homeland.”

Rodriguez said Washington’s actions were part of a “gigantic campaign of lies and manipulation” aimed at justifying the appropriation of the country’s natural resources. She added that the US had always sought to dominate Venezuela economically and politically, regardless of changes in administration.

The government said Venezuela would exercise its rights under international law, its constitution, and the UN Charter, reaffirming its sovereignty over its natural resources and its right to free navigation and commerce in the Caribbean and beyond.

“Venezuela will never again be a colony of an empire or any foreign power,” the statement said.

Since September, the US military has killed more than 80 people in attacks on alleged cartel boats, which Trump claimed were being used by the Venezuelan government to “flood” America with narcotics. Venezuela has denied any involvement in drug trafficking and said the strikes were part of a regime change plot to plunder the country’s natural resources.