While addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Venezuela was destroying itself with wrong policies and claimed that it offered a deal after attack on Nicolas Maduro’s capture during Operation Absolute Resolve ended.
“Venezuela said let’s do a deal after attack ended; they will make more money in six months than they made in six years,” Trump said, according to PTI. He added, “Venezuela has been an amazing place for so many years, but they were ruining themselves with wrong policies.”
He further said that Venezuela is expected to perform very well economically and that the US is assisting the country.
Trump on speaking with Maduro
As per a report by reutersTrump said he was not interested in speaking with Maduro, who is currently in a US jail following his capture by US forces earlier in January. He told the press conference, “I don’t think I would be doing that. I think my lawyers would be very unhappy.” His remarks came in response to a reporter’s question suggesting that Venezuela had interfered in the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost, and asking whether he would discuss the matter with Maduro.
7th sanctioned tanker linked to Venezuela seized
Meanwhile, US military forces boarded and seized a seventh oil tanker linked to Venezuela on Tuesday, continuing the Trump administration’s broader effort to gain control over the South American nation’s oil.
US Southern Command said in a social media post that forces apprehended the Motor Vessel Sagitta “without incident” and noted that the tanker had been operating in defiance of Trump’s “established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean”, reported AP.
The military command did not specify whether the US Coast Guard took control of the vessel, as had occurred with previous seizures. When asked for additional details, both the Pentagon and Southern Command said they had nothing further to add.
The Sagitta, a Liberian-flagged tanker, is registered to a company in Hong Kong. Its last reported location was more than two months ago, after leaving the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. The tanker had been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department under an executive order related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Southern Command’s post indicated the vessel had taken oil from Venezuela and stated that the seizure “demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully”.
The military shared what appeared to be aerial footage of the Sagitta at sea. Unlike prior videos, this clip did not show US forces approaching by helicopter or boarding the ship. Since the US removal of Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid on January 3, the Trump administration has sought to control the country’s oil production, refining, and global distribution. Officials have indicated that seizing tankers is a way to generate cash while working to rebuild Venezuela’s oil industry and restore its economy.
