Trump Vows to Control Venezuelan Oil, Seizes Tankers
AMY GOODMAN: This is democracy Now!,democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman,with Nermeen Shaikh.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: U.S. forces have seized two more oil tankers with links to Venezuela, days after the U.S. attacked Venezuela and abducted President Nicolás Maduro along with his wife. One of the oil tankers was seized in the Caribbean. The other, a Russian-flagged tanker, was intercepted in the North Atlantic. In response, Russia accused the U.S. of violating maritime law, calling for the release of the ship’s crew. This comes as the Trump administration has announced plans to control sales of Venezuela’s oil indefinitely.
AMY GOODMAN: On Wednesday,President Trump told The New York Times,in an extended interview,the U.S. may run the country for years. Trump also claimed the interim Venezuelan government is, quote, “giving us everything that we feel is necessary,” unquote.
This is Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaking Wednesday.
SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO: As you’ve seen today, two more ships were seized. We are in the midst right now and,in fact,about to execute on a deal to take all the oil. They have oil that is stuck in Venezuela. They can’t move it as of our quarantine and because its sanctioned. We are going to take between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re joined now by two guests.
From Caracas, Venezuela, we’re joined by Carlos Ron, former Venezuelan diplomat who served as vice minister for North America from 2018 to last year under the government of Nicolás maduro, co-coordinator of Nuestra américa office of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He’s joining us from caracas. His new piece for CounterPunch headlined “The Current Situation in Venezuela: A Government in Charge, a people Resilient.”
And we’re joined by Francisco rodríguez, venezuelan economist, senior research fellow at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, professor of public and international affairs at the University of Denver. He has a piece in The New York times today, “How Machado Lost Her Chance to Lead Venezuela.” His recent book, The Collapse of Venezuela: Scorched Earth politics and Economic Decline, 2012-2020. He’s a former head of Venezuela’s Congressional Budget Office.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Francisco Rodríguez, let’s begin with you. Start off by responding to the U.S. bombing of Venezuela, killing, according to Venezuela now, about a hundred people, abducting Maduro and his wife. You say this is unprecedented in U.S. history. Can you respond?
FRANCISCO RODRÍGUEZ: Well,yes,I mean,more then U.S. history. The being able to extract a head of state from a country, to essentially kidnap that head of state and take him to another country, is something that there are no clear historical precedents of
But also, ever since the attack, there have been demonstrations by different sectors of Venezuelan society in – like you said, in favor of the releasing of President Maduro, bringing him back home, and in support of the government, which is actually – that is what I think is very atypical, in any case, of this type of intervention.I mean, this was an act of war by the United States, with there’s no doubt whatsoever. I don’t think this is different from an act of war. I mean, I think this was clearly a violation of the U.N. Charter.This is a violation of, you know, Article 51 and Article 1 and 2.You know, there’s - you know, the president of Venezuela is a prisoner of war. Now, I think what is important to see is how Venezuela has united. This has been something that inside Venezuela has helped, I think, bring Venezuelans together, in rejection of this U.S. attack.
You talk about people outside of Venezuela,and these are people that were not – you know,the bombs didn’t fly over their heads.I think that you even see that there’s even people here, in Venezuela, that were not members of the government, that were not government supporters, that are people that have, you know, been opposition leaders or militants. You don’t see them on the streets, you know, celebrating or doing anything of the sort.You actually see a lot of people that are,you know,frustrated,are angry and are upset about this incursion from the United States.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask Francisco Rodríguez about the oil, about the seizing, most recently, of these latest oil tankers, one with a Russian flag, about President Trump saying that the U.S. is going to run Venezuela for the indefinite future, and it will be funded by taking Venezuela’s oil – the latest, the 30 to 50 million barrels of oil that the U.S.will just take, worth something like $2 billion.
FRANCISCO RODRÍGUEZ: Yeah,well,the details are still unclear as to exactly how it is that this is going to work.Effectively,the Venezuelan economy runs on the revenues from oil sales. Oil is more than 90% of the country’s exports. It’s around half of its fiscal revenue.This economy does not operate, cannot do very basic things, including even feeding its population, without these oil revenues.
Now, President Trump has effectively said that, and his Cabinet have said that, these funds are going to be deposited in offshore accounts and that the U.S. is going to be deciding how they’re going to be spent. But unless they want to cause a famine in Venezuela, this money has to come back to Venezuela to fund Venezuelan imports of essentials, of food, of medicines, of agricultural input, of inputs for restoring the oil sector, its electricity sector.
So, what seems to be taking place is something that is actually similar to the Iraqi Oil for Food program between 1996 and 2003. At that time, it was the U.N.Security Council that imposed it, and it was the United Nations as an institution that effectively ran it. And what that implied was supervision over how the funds were spent. Of course, in that case, the idea was that the role would be to ensure that they were spent on humanitarian goods, on humanitarian imports. Here, President Trump is being much more explicit that he cares about this, these imports, coming from American companies, so that it’s a way to ensure that Venezuela – that the money that comes out of Venezuela is actually spent on contracting the U.S. corporate sector.
The term “Shaikh” (also spelled Sheikh, Sheik, or Shaykh) denotes a leader, elder, or respected figure in Arab societies, and carries varying levels of political, religious, or tribal authority. Its meaning and application are context-dependent, ranging from a family head to a ruler of an emirate.
origins and Etymology of “Shaikh”
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The word “Shaikh” originates from the Arabic word شيخ (shaykh), meaning ”old man,” “elder,” or “leader.” Initially, it signified a wise, experienced elder respected for their knowledge and judgment. Over time, the term evolved to encompass various forms of leadership within Arab and Islamic cultures.
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for example, the rulers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are commonly referred to as Shaikhs. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the current President of the UAE and Ruler of abu Dhabi UAE Government - The Rulers. Similarly, the Emir of Qatar is known as Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani Qatar Government - Leadership. These positions are not merely ceremonial; they involve ample executive and legislative authority.
Sheikhdoms and Tribal Leadership
A ”Sheikhdom” refers to a territory or state ruled by a Shaikh. Historically,many regions in the Arabian Peninsula were organized around tribal structures led by Shaikhs.
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The title ”Shaikh” is also used to denote respected islamic scholars and religious leaders. In this context,it signifies a person with deep knowledge of Islamic theology,jurisprudence,and spirituality.
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