Delcy Rodriguez: Drug trafficking and human rights were the excuse; the real motive was oil'

"The new Venezuelan president referred to the kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro as a stain that contaminates the relationship between the two countries and asserted that drug trafficking and human rights were an excuse for the U.S. intervention, because the real motive is Venezuelan oil. On Wednesday, the state-owned oil company PDVSA announced the existence of trade negotiations with the United States, just four days after the capture of the Chavista leader and his wife, Cilia Flores."

"She made these remarks during a meeting at Miraflores Palace with a delegation of members of the new National Assembly, including opposition figures Stalin Gonzalez and Antonio Ecarri. According to Rodriguez, 71% of Venezuelan exports go to eight countries and 27% to the United States. She added there will be no supervised investments because Venezuela must have economic relations with all countries in the hemisphere, without specifically mentioning Trump."

Delcy Rodriguez referenced Donald Trump's announcement about oil revenues and emphasized that economic relations between the United States and Venezuela are not unusual. She stated that 71% of Venezuelan exports go to eight countries and 27% to the United States, and she rejected supervised investments, calling for broad economic ties across the hemisphere. Rodriguez described the kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro as a stain on bilateral relations and characterized drug trafficking and human rights claims as pretexts for intervention aimed at Venezuelan oil. State-owned PDVSA reported trade negotiations with the United States shortly after Maduro's capture, while Rodriguez affirmed energy sovereignty and criticized the Global North's energy voracity.

Read at english.elpais.com