Venezuela’s Maduro slams US' ‘foreign policy blackmail’, says Washington's position toward his govt. nonsensical

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has bitterly slammed the United States' foreign policy approach toward his country, describing Washington's position as nonsensical.

Maduro made the remark in an interview after Venezuela's now-defunct opposition-led National Assembly voted to dissolve an interim government and appoint a commission to oversee the country's foreign assets.

"With the United States, they are unfortunately trapped in a policy on Venezuela that makes no sense, in supporting institutions that don't exist, an interim president of an assembly of Narnia, which they keep on supporting," he said.

The Venezuelan president added, "In one way or another, the foreign policy blackmail from Florida, from Miami, holds ground in the White House, in the [US] Department of State."

He hoped that the American officials would instead "leave their extremist policy aside and come to more pragmatic policies with respect to Venezuela."

The Venezuelan head of state broke off relations with the US in 2019, when the administration of then President Donald Trump said it would refuse to recognize the Latin American nation's election results of the previous year, which had reinstated Maduro in power.

Washington instead began throwing its weight behind opposition figure, Juan Guaido, as Venezuela's so-called interim president.

On Friday, however, Venezuela's US-backed opposition voted to remove the Guaido-led interim government.

Venezuela's US-backed opposition votes to remove Guaido's so-called interim govt.

Venezuela

A spokesperson for the US National Security Council said, though, that Trump's successor Joe Biden would continue to back the  "interim government regardless of what form it takes."

Elsewhere in his interview, Maduro said unlike the hostile policy adopted by the US, Venezuela is ready to "take a step towards the normalization and regularization of diplomatic, consular, and political relations with the United States and subsequent governments."

Maduro also called on global energy companies to do business in Venezuela.

"I send out a message to all firms, to all energy companies in the world, in the United States, in Europe, in Asia that the largest certified reserves of petrol are in Venezuela," he said.

His comment came after US oil company, Chevron Corp., organized two oil tankers to Venezuela, one of which will load the first cargo of crude destined for the United States in nearly four years, according to a person familiar with the matter and shipping data.

US issues expanded license to allow Chevron to import Venezuelan oil

Washington grants its oil giant Chevron Corp an exemption from Venezuelan sanctions.

This came after Chevron received Washington's expanded license in late November, allowing the second-largest US oil company to resume production in Venezuela and to import the South American country's crude into the United States.

Maduro defended the deal with Chevron, saying, "Relations with Chevron and negotiations with them have been within the constitution and the law. Dialogue and talks with them are extraordinary and I hope that they are firmed up effectively, on all projects that contracts have been signed on."

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