‘Energy greed’: Venezuela acting president Delcy calls out Trump; leaves door open for Russia, China

Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez slammed the United States for the “false” claims about drugs, democracy, and human rights and said that these have been used as excuses for one real goal: “oil.“While addressing the Venezuelan Parliament, Rodriguez said they are open to energy relations where all parties benefit, where economic cooperation is clearly defined in commercial contracts.This remarks came after Trump said that the US is receiving full cooperation from Venezuela’s regime and will control the country and its vast oil reserves for years. Caracas was giving Washington “everything that we feel is necessary” and the US would remain a political overlord there for an indefinite period, the US president said.In a video, going viral, Rodriguez said, “We are an energy powerhouse, we truly are. It has brought us tremendous problems, because you all know that the energy greed of the North wants resource of our country. And we have denounced it all the falsehoods about drug trafficking, democracy, and human rights. They were the excuses because what has always been present is the (threat) that Venezuela’s oil must be handed over to the global North.”Rodríguez also said that her government is open to energy partnerships and commercial agreements with other nations, highlighting the country’s vast oil and gas reserves and willingness to work within international law.“And here we are, our stance has been very clear. Venezuela is open to energy relations where all parties benefit, where economic cooperation is clearly defined in commercial contracts. This is our stance as it the diversity of our energy relations,” she added.Earlier, Venezuela’s interim president defended plans to open up her country’s oil market to Washington.Rodríguez said on Wednesday that the US attack to remove her predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, had put a “stain” on the countries’ relations, but that it was “not unusual or irregular” to trade with the US, adding that Venezuela was “open to energy relations where all parties benefit”.US forces seized a pair of sanctions-hit tankers on Wednesday and the administration announced it would manage all sales of Venezuela’s future crude production and oversee the sale of the country’s petroleum worldwide.