The United States’ military buildup in the Caribbean led Venezuela to formally appeal to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The information was confirmed by the newspaper The Globe.
In a letter sent by Nicolás Maduro and read by vice-president Delcy Rodríguez during a virtual OPEC meeting this Sunday (30), Caracas asked for support to stop what it calls North American aggression.
Since August, the Trump administration has maintained an anti-drug operation in the region with warships, thousands of soldiers, fighter jets, drones and even the largest aircraft carrier in the world. For Venezuela, the action is not related to the fight against drug trafficking, but rather with a movement to overthrow Maduro and take control of the largest oil reserves on the planet.
Continues after advertising
In the document, the president states that the North American offensive threatens the stability of Venezuelan production and could generate imbalances in the global energy market.
Venezuela is a founding member of OPEC, but is facing a structural drop in exports caused by international sanctions and internal infrastructure difficulties.
The pressure increased this Saturday (29), when Donald Trump declared that Venezuelan airspace should be considered entirely closed. The American alert has already led six airlines to suspend flights to and from the country.
Trump has reinforced that ground operations to dismantle drug trafficking networks “will begin soon”, although he said he intends to talk to Maduro. According to the American press, the two had spoken by phone the week before last, but the content of the conversation was not revealed.
