ESCALATING STANDOFF WITH WASHINGTON
The proposed law was introduced shortly after US forces seized a second oil tanker transporting Venezuelan crude over the weekend. On Dec 16, US President Donald Trump declared a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil vessels entering or leaving Venezuela.
The move marked a sharp escalation in a standoff that began in September, when Washington launched a large-scale naval deployment in the Caribbean, officially described as an anti-narcotics operation.
Since then, US forces have carried out dozens of strikes on boats that Washington alleges were involved in drug trafficking. US authorities have not publicly released evidence to support those claims. More than 100 people have been killed in the strikes, with some families and regional governments saying the victims included fishermen.
POLITICAL FALLOUT AT HOME
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whose whereabouts are unknown after she left hiding to travel to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, has spoken in favour of US sanctions and the Caribbean naval deployment. Maduro has accused opposition figures of colluding with foreign powers to destabilise the country.
Venezuela has been under US oil sanctions since 2019 and currently produces about one million barrels of crude per day, most of which is sold on the black market at steep discounts.
Maduro has repeatedly accused Washington of seeking to overthrow him and seize Venezuela’s oil resources, an allegation Trump has reinforced by saying the United States wants Venezuelan oil “back” after the nationalisation of US assets in 2007.
Russia has meanwhile pledged its “full support” for Caracas as the crisis deepens.