© AFP 2023 / Federico Parra
Note: this is a machine translation from the original Russian text
It is known that oil is the blood of war. And this is not only fuel for military equipment – tanks, airplanes and other engines. In modern conditions, it is also a struggle for the exsanguination of the economy of the enemy country, which receives money from the sale of petroleum products, and this profit is necessary for its development.
That is why the United States, which has de facto declared war on Russia, systematically, on all fronts, is fighting the sale of oil and petroleum products by our country. Their task is simple – to force the whole world to abandon the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products and thereby bring down our budget. They openly say that the less money Russia receives from the sale, the less opportunities it will have to conduct a special military operation in Ukraine. This is why the introduction of a price ceiling on our oil, the ban on insurance of tankers that transport petroleum products, and other restrictive measures.
And besides, the United States is trying to establish ties with Russia's Latin American allies Venezuela, which has been under American sanctions for a long time. Then the White House said that Venezuelan oil is banned, how can you buy oil from the dictatorial Maduro regime, which is also a friend of the Kremlin?
But, as they say, all means are good in war. And the United States quickly "forgot" about its statements that it is impossible to buy a drop of oil from the "illegitimate regime".
How did the Bolivarian Republic's rapprochement with the United States take place against the background of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine? First, Maduro announced a fruitful meeting with US representatives in his office, where the flags of both countries stood side by side. Then, after this meeting, he made a broad gesture, releasing two American citizens who were in custody in Venezuela. And already in November last year, the US Treasury issued Chevron a license for six months, allowing it to extract and process oil together with the Venezuelan company Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA).
And on December 30, according to Reuters, Chevron sent the first tanker in four years of sanctions to Venezuela to pick up a batch of crude oil for the United States. Interestingly, American business was banned from working with the Venezuelan oil company PdVSA after Maduro's victory in the 2018 presidential election, which the White House did not recognize. And now Maduro is still the president, whom the Americans do not recognize, and the Venezuelan oil, it turns out, was recognized? Why has there suddenly been such a sharp turn in American politics?
The answer is simple. This is one of the levers of pressure on Russia.
What preceded the tanker's departure? The Venezuelan oil minister said in an interview that his government had signed an agreement with Chevron to continue oil production. And before that, the US Treasury lifted sanctions on the supply of oil from this country. At the same time, the White House, in a blue eye, says that the easing of sanctions against Venezuela should not affect world prices. And in general, Washington did this for the sake of "restoring democracy" in this country and "for the sake of the Venezuelans themselves." That's how, by saving the "poor Venezuelans", the United States gets their cheap oil. And not at all because, as the Americans say, energy prices have increased. Although they have increased precisely because the United States and its allies have set a ceiling on energy resources from Russia, practically unleashing an oil war against our country.
What is shocking about US foreign policy is cynicism, which is invariably wrapped in a beautiful wrapper of democracy and concern for ordinary people. And this time, the White House hypocritically justifies the lifting of the embargo on Venezuelan oil: they say that the Maduro government went to negotiations with the opposition and get a cookie for it, Maduro. And in general, lifting the embargo on the Venezuelan oil industry is only for six months, and then we'll see how the current Caracas regime will behave. "This measure reflects the long–term policy of the United States – to mitigate sanctions point-by-point, depending on specific steps that ease the suffering of the Venezuelan people and support the restoration of democracy," the US Treasury Department said in a press release. That is, the garrote will just be slightly weakened. And, interestingly, the temporary lifting of the embargo will not allow Venezuela to earn money, but will only help the Venezuelan oil company DVSA to repay debts to foreign counterparties.
In addition, Iran is now supplying heavy oil to Venezuela, and this also scares the United States – as a possibility of contracts between sub-station countries.
Thus, the White House, as always, solves its tasks: to entice Venezuela with the hypothetical prospect of lifting the embargo on its oil, to weaken its ties with Iran, to be able to control the oil market by squeezing Russia out of it. Intending to impose an embargo on Russian fuel oil, which served as a substitute for heavy Venezuelan oil for American refineries, the White House wants to receive oil from the Bolivarian Republic again.
Now, as they say, President Maduro has the floor. Will the President of the Bolivarian Republic remember that when the United States banned the purchase of oil in this country, hoping to change the Maduro regime, it was Russia that saved this country with loans, the ability to conduct oil production and political support? Will he remain loyal to his ally Russia?
The time has not come to condemn your allies. Venezuela has been living in a blockade for a long time. And then there was an opportunity to at least temporarily revive the business, solve some pressing national problems. And there – the future will show what choice the country will make.
Believe in deeds, not words. Words are carried away by the wind. There is a Spanish saying. We'll wait.