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US strikes on Venezuela

Trump’s Maduro operation was all about oil, Lavrov says

According to the Russian foreign minister stressed that the operation violated all norms of international law

MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump makes no secret of the fact that the "completely illegal operation" in Venezuela to capture President Nicolas Maduro was launched because the Americans needed that country's oil, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said an interview with Turkish media.

"President Donald Trump makes no secret of the fact that when he launched the absolutely illegal operation in violation of all norms of international law, including the absolute immunity of the heads of state, and captured President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro, who is in an American jail together with his wife, he said bluntly that the Americans need Venezuelan oil," the Russian top diplomat stressed.

On January 3, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto said that the United States had struck civilian and military facilities in Caracas, describing Washington’s actions as military aggression. A state of emergency was declared in Venezuela. Trump later confirmed the strikes and announced the seizure and removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife from the country.

They were taken to the United States and held at a detention facility in Brooklyn, southern New York. On January 5, Maduro and his wife appeared before the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. US authorities accuse them of involvement in drug trafficking, allegations both defendants have denied. Trump also claimed that the United States would assume interim governance of Venezuela.

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