9th of March, 2022. International News. Venezuela/USA
Last updated: March 11, 2022 at 14:12 pm
In a televised address to the nation, Nicolas Maduro earlier this week confirmed the US diplomatic visit to Caracas which was first leaked by the New York Times. The meeting between the two governments, who were previously on very unfriendly terms, comes as the United States sanctions and cuts oil and gas imports from Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The meeting took place over the last weekend at the Miraflores Palace, which is the seat of the government in Caracas, and was attended by senior US officials along with Nicolas Maduro himself.
“It has been a very respectful, cordial, and diplomatic meeting. There were flags of the United States and Venezuela. The united flags looked beautiful!”
nicolas maduro – monday, 7th of march, 2022
So did Nicolas Maduro kick his longtime partner in crime, Vladimir Putin, to the curb for a relationship with the United States? Not exactly. Maduro hasn’t exactly turned his back on Putin, but has softened his earlier stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this context, Maduro takes on the role of a champion of peace, and calls for a ceasefire and dialog between Russia and Ukraine.
“We are in a very dangerous moment and the political and military high command of Venezuela has decided that we ring the alert bell to the peoples and leaders of the world, to seek peace, to seek conditions that allow truly solid agreements in the negotiation process between Russia and Ukraine.”
nicolas maduro – monday, 7th of March, 2022
Maduro at the same time expressed his worry that the war could escalate across Europe and consequently engage other regions of the world.
At present, Venezuela produces an estimated 700,000 barrels of oil per day, but the government is optimistic that, with the new US market, they can ramp up production to up to 3 million barrels per day and “stabilize the oil and gas market.”
Incidentally, the United States recently (October 2021) used its voting power to block a US$180 million IDB loan that was intended to develop Guyana’s oil and gas industry.
