WASHINGTON, February 4. /TASS/. The United States wants to guarantee access to oil for itself and the global economy for years, and this is why Venezuela is so crucial for Washington, US Vice President JD Vance has stated.
During his speech at the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington DC, Vance recalled his conversation with US President Trump about how important it is to ensure that the global economy has access to oil and gas for many years to come. One of the reasons the United States is so interested in Venezuela, Vance noted, is that the country possesses such a critical resource as oil.
"As much as we talk about the modern and digital economy, [US] President [Donald Trump] said something very important that should inform how we think about the future of growth, as much as data centres, technology and all the incredible things we are working on matter, fundamentally you still have an economy that runs on real things. There is no realer thing than oil, and I would add to that, there is no realer thing than critical minerals," Vance emphasized.
US media and experts note that the current meeting in Washington has been convened by the US primarily as part of efforts to counter China and trade disputes with it. Commenting on this initiative of the Trump administration, the Chinese embassy in the US told TASS that Beijing is working to maintain the stability of global supply chains and expects the same from Washington.
On January 3, the United States attacked civilian and military facilities in Caracas. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto condemned Washington’s actions as a military aggression. A state of emergency has been imposed in Venezuela. Trump confirmed the attack on Venezuela. He also said that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and taken out of the country. On January 5, the couple appeared before the US Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, where they face charges of alleged involvement in drug trafficking. Both have pleaded not guilty. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president on January 6. Meanwhile, Trump said that Washington would "run" Venezuela in the interim and promised to seek compensation from Caracas for American oil companies, while these firms would allocate funds to restore Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.