Fred Fuentes denies that Venezuela is currently subject to a naval blockade.
In December and January the US navy seized 9 ships carrying oil being exported from Venezuela, and stole the oil. This sent a very clear message to the Venezuelan government: It said that the US will control Venezuela's oil exports. This control over oil exports, established by the blockade, continues to this day. There is an implied threat: If you disobey our orders we will again seize your oil (and perhaps bomb you and/or kidnap you as well). Every decision taken by the Delcy Rodriguez government has been made under coercion. Fred says that Venezuela "relinquished the right to determine where the oil goes". In fact this right was taken away by military force. The US seized 9 oil tankers. It could have continued doing this indefinitely if the Venezuelan government did not "agree" to cooperate. The continued threat of ship seizure means that the blockade continues. Fred says that "Venezuela handed over the commercialisation of its oil to the US". This is like saying that somebody threatened by an armed robber "handed over" (or "relinquished") their money to the robber. The US took control of the commercialisation of Venezuelan oil by military force. Fred says that "US-appointed intermediaries have been offering Venezuelan oil to China since January". Yes, "US-appointed intermediaries" are allowed to sell oil to China. But the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA is not allowed to sell oil to China directly, without going through "US-appointed intermediaries". If PDVSA tried to do this, the ships would be seized by the US navy. Venezuelan government officials such as Jorge Rodriguez deny being under US tutelage and speak of a "cooperative relationship". They are very polite, fearing that any criticism of the US will result in further punishment, while hoping that if they appear cooperative the sanctions will be eased. We can criticise this approach. But if we do, we should put forward a clear alternative. Should Venezuela try to defy the blockade, resulting in more ships being seized by the US navy? Or should it stop trying to export oil, and focus on developing other industries? That is a decision for Venezuelans. For those in the US and its allies such as Australia, the main task is to oppose the blockade and other coercive measures. Chris Slee -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#41450): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/41450 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/118607353/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
