Simon Rodriguez says that the Venezuelan government "accepted" that the US would control the commercialisation of Venezuelan oil.
This "acceptance" was imposed by military force. The US seized 9 oil tankers and stole the oil. This made it clear that Venezuela could not export a single barrel of oil without US permission. The US then offered to return a part of the oil revenue to Venezuela if its government was sufficiently subservient. Delcy Rodriguez agreed to this, presumably thinking it was better to get some oil revenue than none at all. This was not a free choice by the Venezuelan government. It was imposed by the threat of a continued naval blockade, not to mention the possibility of new military aggression against Venezuela, perhaps on a larger scale than January 3. Although the blockade is not currently being actively enforced by ship seizures, this could change very quickly. If Venezuela tried to export oil to a destination not approved by the US government (e.g. China), US forces could once again start seizing ships and stealing the oil. Simon says: "There has been no attempt by the Venezuelan government to break this agreement." What specifically do you advocate? Should Venezuela try to break the blockade? If so, how, given the overwhelming strength of the US military? Alternatively, should Venezuela cease exporting oil? We can criticise the choices made by Delcy Rodriguez, but our main focus should be on campaigning against US aggression. In my view, the problem can not be solved solely within the boundaries of Venezuela. There needs to be political change in the United States. There needs to be a large movement in the US demanding the end of the blockade and all other forms of aggression against Venezuela. The widespread opposition to US wars in the Middle East creates increased opportunities to educate people about US imperialism, including US aggression against Venezuela, and Latin America generally. Chris Slee ,_,_ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#41377): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/41377 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/118607353/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
