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Venezuela’s‍ Oil Nationalization: A Historical Account and Trump’s Claims

Venezuela completed the nationalization‍ of ​its ⁣oil industry in 1976 through‍ a legal process during the first government of⁤ President Carlos Andrés ‌Pérez (1974-1979), but now the president of the United States, Donald Trump, questions the process by denouncing an alleged stripping⁢ of rights from ‍companies in his country, what experts consulted by EFE refute.

While historian Tomás Straka believes ​that Trump’s words reflect a “very ill-informed” interpretation of ​the process,⁣ former Vice ⁢Minister ‌of Energy and Mines Dolores Dobarro told EFE that the resources found in ⁢the‌ Venezuelan subsoil have⁤ belonged to the country⁤ as ⁢its independence.

Trump, who ordered a blockade⁢ of sanctioned ships to and from the South American country after months of military deployment in the Caribbean, recently stated that Venezuela took ​away oil rights from American companies and assured that he wants ⁢them back.

For its part, the administration of Nicolás Maduro denounces that ⁤Washington’s objective ⁤is to appropriate Venezuelan resources. It also accuses him of piracy for the seizure of two ships with crude oil from this Caribbean nation.

Below is a historical‌ account of​ the nationalization and‍ other measures adopted ⁢by the oil ‌country:

The Nationalization of 1976

On August 29, 1975, the Organic Law that⁤ reserves the hydrocarbon industry and ‌trade‌ to⁣ the ⁣State, known as the Loreich, ⁢was published in the⁢ Official Gazette,‍ the ⁤state newspaper, which established january 1, 1976 as ‌the date from which the oil concessions operating in Venezuela ‍where ⁢declared extinct.

Before, Straka explained, private companies exploited​ oil locally. They were companies ⁤mostly with foreign capital, although “technically‌ they were registered in Venezuela.”

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