Venezuelan Ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, denounced recent U.S. actions aimed at undermining the country’s leadership and energy sector, amid President Donald Trump’s escalating pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro.
US Accused of ‘Extortion’
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, Moncada accused Washington of “the greatest extortion known in our history,” after U.S. forces seized two of the nation’s oil tankers this month, while describing the situation as “a gigantic crime of aggression in progress.”
According to the Ambassador, the U.S. has demanded that Caracas “immediately hand over our land, our oil, and our minerals,” warning that if the country failed to comply, the U.S. president had threatened to “unleash the fury of the greatest navy in history on our country.”
“What right does the United States government have to appropriate to date almost 4 million barrels of Venezuelan oil?” the diplomat asked the council.
Maduro’s Government Not Legitimate: Mike Waltz
The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Michael Waltz, responded during the session on Tuesday, saying that the “United States government does not recognize Nicholas Maduro or his cronies as the legitimate government of Venezuela.”
He added that Maduro was a fugitive from American justice, and the head of the terrorist organization “Cartel De Loles,” or Cartel of The Suns, a criminal network within the armed forces of Venezuela, known for its involvement in the international drug trade.
Waltz said that the oil tankers that were seized serve as “the primary economic lifeline for Maduro and his illegitimate regime.”
“The United States will continue to take decisive actions to weaken the illegitimate regime and deny Maduro and his cronies access to illicit revenues. This includes profits from the sale of oil,” the U.S. Ambassador said.
Oil Prices Remain Steady
The Trump administration’s escalating pressure on Maduro’s regime has led to a surge in the prices of crude oil, gold and silver over the past week.
Gold, tracked by the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), touched a new all-time high of $4,530 an ounce last week, and similarly, Silver, tracked by the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV), touched a new all-time high of $75 per ounce.
Crude oil futures trade at $58.50 per barrel, up 0.26% on Friday, and up 3.25% over the past week, amid escalating tensions with the South American nation, which currently has the largest recognized reserves of the commodity in the world, at 300 billion barrels.
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