'US seeking control over Venezuela oil reserves'

The United States has once again threatened to use military force against Venezuela. Vice President Mike Pence has threatened to slap a fresh round of sanctions while defending President Donald Trump’s comments that military intervention could be used to solve Venezuela’s crisis. Following is a synopsis of Press TV’s interview with Javier Farje, a Latin America expert, and Shobhan Saxena, a political commentator, about Washington's militaristic approach towards Latin American countries, Venezuela in particular.

Shobhan Saxena maintains that the ultimate goal in the US military doctrine is to take control of natural resources of other countries, something that can explain Donald Trump's desire for military intervention in Latin America. 

“We all know that oil is very important for the US foreign policy. That is why it intervenes all around the world whether in the Middle East or other parts of the world," Saxena said, stressing that this kind of intervention is totally unacceptable to any country in South America.

He commented that even though Venezuela has become somehow isolated among Latin American countries in recent years, any attack on the country would be faced with opposition from its neighbors.

“I think Venezuela is not really at a strong position at the moment. But, we all know that because the US has the habit of going to war against small countries because of the natural resources, it is a possibility, Saxena noted, expressing hope that Trump’s threat would be nothing but a bluff.

Meanwhile, Javier Farje, the other panelist on the show, agreed with Saxena, and added that Trump’s aggressive rhetoric against Venezuela has tipped the scale in favor of President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

“This threat by President Trump has changed the tide [of events] in Latin America. All countries in Latin America have ruled out any kind of military intervention because we know what could happen if that is the case,” Farje said.

Asked about concerns surrounding Colombia’s cooperation with the US in case of a military attack against Venezuela, he replied, “Colombia is coming out of a peace process and this would make it very difficult for the country to support an invasion that will have to use its territory. That would [also] cause an influx of refugees from Venezuela to Colombia and would probably put in danger their own peace process.”

Trump’s threat against Venezuela has drawn condemnations from all Latin American states, including the ones that are opposed to Nicolas Maduro. Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay,  Uruguay, Mexico, Peru and Chile have all rejected Trump's belligerent language.

The government in Caracas has called the US president's threat “reckless” and “craziness.” Even the Venezuelan opposition has also rejected any manner of foreign military intervention.

Political tensions in Venezuela skyrocketed after Caracas announced plans to establish a Constituent Assembly to take over the opposition-controlled parliament and rewrite the constitution. The opposition sees the move as an overt attempt by Maduro to accumulate power.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk