t Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on the 12th that China firmly opposes illegal unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction" that lack the basis of international law and are not authorized by the United Nations Security Council, and opposes the indiscriminate imposition of sanctions.
Venezuelan President Maduro Data Picture Source: Visual China
The United States planned for several months.
According to a report by Reuters on the 11th, according to two people familiar with the matter, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security have been planning for the seizure on the 10th for several months. The shocking raid video released by the White House showed that American soldiers quickly descended from helicopters to the Captain tanker transporting Venezuelan oil, holding weapons to control the tanker. According to relevant information, the tanker "Captain" is 20 years old and can carry about 2 million barrels of oil. The U.S. government claimed that it had obtained a seizure order for the tanker on the grounds that the tanker had "used to smuggle Iranian oil in the past", but had not yet obtained an seizure order for the oil on board. There is a legal procedure for seizing these oils, and we will follow this procedure. White House Press Secretary Levitt said on the 11th. According to the New York Times, American economists estimate that the oil on the Captain is worth about $78 million.
The media generally believes that this action marks a significant escalation of the pressure exerted by the United States on Venezuela and will continue. According to Reuters, about 30 tankers in the waters near Venezuela are subject to some form of U.S. sanctions. Six people familiar with the matter told Reuters that the United States is preparing to seize more ships transporting Venezuelan oil. The U.S. military is monitoring these tankers and some ships currently docked in Venezuelan ports at sea (these ships are either being repaired or loading goods) and waiting for them to sail into international waters before taking Action.
According to foreign media, this action quickly triggered the chill effect. According to Reuters, shipping sources said that the U.S. action has raised the vigilance of shipowners, operators and maritime agencies involved in transporting Venezuelan crude oil, and many people are reconsidering whether to set sail from Venezuelan waters as planned in the next few days. According to the source, the U.S. action caused at least one freight company to temporarily suspend the voyage of three batches of newly loaded goods, which are nearly 6 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil. According to the Washington Post, according to a person related to the Venezuelan government, the seizure made the Venezuelan authorities uneasy.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Hill issued a government communiqué on the 10th, condemning the actions of the United States as "shameless theft" and "international piracy". According to the BBC, Maduro said that the United States "opened a new era, an era of crimes committed by Pirates of the Caribbean".
The National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) said that the dramatic seizure has exacerbated speculation that if Maduro refuses to hand over power, the U.S. government may approve an all-out war against Venezuela. The U.S. government has recently deployed a number of warships in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela on the grounds of "drug col", which put pressure on the Commission. The sudden seizure of a Venezuelan tanker this time, so is the target of the United States "drug" or Venezuelan oil? Levitt refused to give a clear answer on the 11th.
"It's a complete lie"
The British newspaper The Guardian said that, to at least to some extent, both parties in Washington were disturbed by the current administration's escalating military posture in the region. Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the seizure of the tanker showed that the government's so-called "fight against drug crimes" was a complete lie, which once again proved that the government's purpose was actually to overthrow the (Venezuela) regime by force. Republican Senator Rand Paul said that "seizing other people's tankers is waging war" and questioned whether the U.S. government's duty is to go around the world to find enemies and start wars." Democratic Senator Chris Kuens said he was shocked by the government's actions. "I don't know why the president seized a tanker. I'm very worried that he will lead us to war in a sleepwalking."
Many Latin American countries support Venezuela in solidarity. Diaz Canel, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of Cuba, issued a statement on social media platforms on the 11th, strongly condemning the attack on Venezuelan tankers by the U.S. military. He said that this move was a "piracy act" that seriously violated the norms of international law, marking the escalation of the U.S. aggression against the Cuban brother country, and stressed that Cuba's full support for the Venezuelan government.
On the 10th, Nicaraguan President Ortega condemned the threat of U.S. sovereignty and military pressure on Venezuela, saying that its behavior undermined the stability of South America, and Venezuela has never taken aggressive action against any country in the region. Colombian President Petro said that the United States had just proved with actions that the real motive for its aggression in the Caribbean was oil.
The Brazilian News Agency said on the 11th that the United States has taken many military operations against ships in the Caribbean on the grounds of combating drug smuggling, but data shows that Venezuela is not a major cocaine producer, and there is no evidence that there are large-scale transnational drug trafficking groups in its territory. Trump has publicly admitted that he is close to "taking" all of Venezuela's oil during his first presidential term. Earlier this month, the new national security strategy released by the White House clearly stated that the United States would maintain its "dominant influence" in Latin America. A series of recent actions by the United States against Venezuela are essentially aimed at promoting regime change in the country.
Al Jazeera TV in Qatar said on the 12th that Venezuela had nothing to do with the inflow of drugs to the United States. People can't help but think of the actions taken by the United States against another oil-rich country at the end of the century. President George W. Bush at the time launched a massacre in Iraq based on fabricated 'weapons of mass destruction' charges. According to the article, although the U.S. official said that the sanctions were aimed at attacking those in power, it was the ordinary people who ultimately paid the price.
How big is the impact on Venezuela?
Australia's "Dialogue" website said on the 12th that Venezuela's economy is heavily dependent on oil production. Most analysts believe that oil accounts for more than 80% of the country's all exports, and more than half of the government's revenue comes from the oil industry. However, Venezuela's oil supply accounts for only about 1% of the global market share, and the seizure has little impact on global oil prices.
Regarding the impact of the seizure on the Maduro government, the Washington Post said that some analysts said that Maduro had experienced a much more serious crisis than this and may be able to get through the difficulties. But Francisco Rodriguez, an economist at the University of Denver, said that if the United States continues to seize tankers transporting Venezuelan oil and completely deprives Venezuela of its ability to sell oil through a maritime blockade, "the impact on the country may be disastrous."
Pan Deng, director of the Latin American Law and Public Policy Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, said in an interview with the Global Times on the 12th that although Venezuela has economic weakness and underemployment, the Maduro government's social regulation strategy is relatively effective, which has been maintained through the distribution mechanism of food, energy and other materials. The basic stability of society.
Regarding the current situation, Pan Deng believes that it is unlikely that the United States will subvert the Maduro government through large-scale military intervention, such as ground war. Nowadays, the United States is more likely to use low-intensity force actions such as maritime blockade and attack on fishing boats to exert pressure and force the CZD to make concessions in negotiations. The United States' move can not only show its strength, but also intend to improve the bargaining chip, forcing the Maduro
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