The US president has demanded Caracas \u201creturn stolen assets\u201d or face the wrath of the American naval armada<\/p>\n
Venezuela has denounced US President Donald Trump\u2019s oil blockade on the country, saying his \u201cinterventionist and colonialist\u201d rhetoric proves Washington\u2019s long-standing plan to seize Venezuelan natural resources.
\nTrump had announced the move in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, describing it as\u00a0\u201ca total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela.\u201d
\nIn an official statement released late Tuesday, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Trump\u2019s remarks revealed the \u201ctrue intention\u201d of the United States\u00a0\u201cto take over the oil, land, and minerals of Venezuela.\u201d
\nThe government rejected Trump\u2019s claim that Venezuela had \u201cstolen\u201d assets from Washington and denounced his rhetoric as \u201cinterventionist and colonialist.\u201d The statement accused the US president of violating international law, free trade, and freedom of navigation by ordering US naval forces in the Caribbean to prevent \u201csanctioned tankers\u201d from entering or leaving Venezuelan waters.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Trump accuses Venezuela of stealing US oil<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough his social media statements, the president of the United States assumes that Venezuela\u2019s oil, land, and mineral wealth belong to him,\u201d the statement said. \u201cOn that basis, he seeks to impose a naval military blockade with the objective of robbing the riches that belong to our homeland.\u201d
\nRodriguez said Washington\u2019s actions were part of a \u201cgigantic campaign of lies and manipulation\u201d aimed at justifying the appropriation of the country\u2019s natural resources. She added that the US had always sought to dominate Venezuela economically and politically, regardless of changes in administration.
\nThe government said Venezuela would exercise its rights under international law, its constitution, and the UN Charter, reaffirming its sovereignty over its natural resources and its right to free navigation and commerce in the Caribbean and beyond.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Trump teases land strikes in Venezuela \u2018soon\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cVenezuela will never again be a colony of an empire or any foreign power,\u201d the statement said.
\nSince September, the US military has killed more than 80 people in attacks on alleged cartel boats, which Trump claimed were being used by the Venezuelan government to \u201cflood\u201d America with narcotics. Venezuela has denied any involvement in drug trafficking and said the strikes were part of a\u00a0regime change plot\u00a0to plunder the country\u2019s natural resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US president has demanded Caracas \u201creturn stolen assets\u201d or face the wrath of the American naval armada Venezuela has denounced US President Donald Trump\u2019s oil blockade on the country,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24444,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t