The vice president of the Nicolás Maduro regime, Delcy Rodríguez, said this Friday (19) that the United States must ask Venezuela for “forgiveness” and pay compensation, when reacting to American President Donald Trump’s statements about the recovery of American energy assets in the South American country.
According to Rodríguez, in a message published on his Telegram channel, oil and gas belong to the Venezuelan State and there is “no US right” over these resources.
“Venezuela owes nothing to the United States. If they want our oil, they must pay,” he said, according to the official publication.
According to the vice president, Caracas does not owe Washington any explanations and, on the contrary, expects “historic apologies” and compensation for what she classified as “threats, sanctions and illegitimate pressure” imposed on the country.
In recent days, Trump ordered the blockade of sanctioned tankers transporting oil to or from Venezuela and reinforced the United States military presence in the Caribbean Sea, as part of the pressure strategy against the Maduro regime.
According to the American president, Venezuela is “surrounded” by a powerful naval fleet, and the pressure would continue until the country “returned” assets that, according to him, belonged to the USA. Caracas interprets these statements as a direct threat to national sovereignty, according to Venezuelan officials.
In a recent interview with NBC NewsTrump stated that he does not rule out an armed conflict with Venezuela and said that the seizures of oil tankers should continue.
At the same time, the United States announced new sanctions this Friday against family members and associates close to Maduro. According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), seven individuals linked to Cilia Flores, the dictator’s wife, were sanctioned for participating in corrupt transactions linked to the Venezuelan regime, a measure that includes freezing assets and banning business with American people and companies.
