Venezuela speculates over goal of US actionpublished at 21:56 GMT
Ione Wells
South America correspondent
While the US has always claimed its military build-up in the
Caribbean is about tackling drug-trafficking, there has been much speculation
about what other potential goals it may have.
Many analysts say it is about putting
military pressure on Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro to resign, while the Venezuelan government has accused the US of trying to grab
Venezuelan oil reserves.
This is a view shared by some in the region too. A Venezuelan
man in Caracas told the BBC on Tuesday that while he was not a fan of the
Venezuelan government, he believed the US was “coming for the gold, for the
country’s riches, the oil”.
While a tanker being seized – often because of sanction violations – is not unprecedented, this latest US move may further fuel the Venezuelan
government’s argument.
There are widespread
sanctions on Venezuelan oil, although some companies are exempt. The US company Chevron operates in the country and drills in
many parts of Venezuela.
It pays the government with some of the oil it
produces alongside the state oil company, PDVSA, via joint ventures between the
companies.
The US has given Chevron a licence to exempt it from
sanctions.
