If you saw Trump’s weird post, it’s sort of partially correct. Chavez kicked out Cononco while they were exploring for oil. International courts declared it illegal.
Making this a war is the dumb part. Reducing oil consumption would save more lives and take power away from Venezuela.
Trump is not partially right. Venezuela nationalised their oil industry in the 1970s and re wrote the conditions for foreign oil companies to operate in their country under Chavez and maduro. Some left and others continued to operate by accepting these conditions. The ones that left were compensated and were compensated through insurance. In capitalist speak , they took a business risk and lost . Maduro was willing to discuss further compensation but trump refused and slapped further sanctions on its oil industry. This drove out remaining American oil companies.
Next time - do better
You may not believe this, but I respect your opinion. What I don’t respect is you treating members like you are the master and we are your students. It’s a flagrant violations of the rules. It adds nothing.
Check your sources . Stop putting out half truths. Do better
I don’t know why you came here. Bye
Where i agree with Georgieboy:
USA have done everything they could to break Venezuelan economy and provoke a revolution. The blockade of oil exports was the final straw.
They are largely responsible of the economic situation of the country.
I have found that, i don’t know what is true or not :
Under Chávez (the president before Maduro), this money funded schools, healthcare, and housing. Maduro tried to maintain this sovereignty. But for Washington, seeing a country sitting on such a treasure without allowing multinationals to help themselves is unacceptable. That’s why, before kidnapping its president in early January 2026, the United States waged total economic war against the Venezuelan people. This war has been going on for ten years. It’s the root of the problems. Here’s how the United States is waging it.
Everything changed between 2014 and 2016. The price of oil collapsed globally (falling from $100 to less than $30). This was a catastrophe for Venezuela, whose economy depends on oil. Instead of letting the country adapt to the crisis, the United States decided to strike when it was down. That’s when the economic war began.
First, with a financial heist. In 2015, Obama signed an executive order disconnecting Venezuela from the global banking system (SWIFT). Without access to foreign currency (dollars, euros), the country could no longer import anything. Even with cash on hand for vaccines or rice, no bank dared to make the transfer for fear of American fines. The consequences? Store shelves emptied. But this didn’t happen by chance: the country was physically prevented from paying for what it consumed.
Then came the CITGO takeover. CITGO is a giant company located in the USA, 100% owned by the Venezuelan government. At that time, it belonged entirely to the Venezuelan people through their government. It’s a gigantic company with enormous refineries (processing Venezuelan oil on American soil), 48 storage terminals, and 5,000 gas stations. Everything is located on American soil. For Venezuela, it’s the only source of dollars to finance the country’s economy. The US government, overnight, in 2019, stole this company (making it run for its own profit). It literally seized a nation’s wallet. This theft caused the collapse of the Bolivar (Venezuela’s currency) and hyperinflation. Imagine having your salary taken away and then being called a “bad manager” because you can no longer afford groceries…
And that:
What has China done for Venezuela?
Without resorting to empty rhetoric like Trump or Macron, China has embarked on a series of concrete measures, based on the premise that the United States has used control of Venezuelan oil as a means to curb China’s presence in South America and hinder its irresistible and accelerated development.
China has taken measures that directly target the power of the American empire, because the aggression against Venezuela is a declaration of war against the multipolar world order and the BRICS group.
Just hours after the announcement of President Nicolás Maduro’s kidnapping, President Xi Jinping convened an emergency meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party, which lasted exactly 120 minutes. No official statements were made, no diplomatic threats were issued; on the contrary, there was calm before the storm. This meeting triggered what Chinese strategists call a “comprehensive asymmetric response” to any aggression targeting China’s partners in the Western Hemisphere.
Venezuela serves as China’s bridgehead in Latin America, right within the United States’ “sphere of influence.”
The first phase of the Chinese response began at 9:15 a.m. on January 4, when the People’s Bank of China quietly announced the temporary suspension of all US dollar transactions with companies linked to the American defense sector. Companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and General Dynamics learned upon waking that all their business dealings with China had been frozen without any prior warning.
At 11:43 a.m. the same day, the State Grid Corporation of China, which operates the world’s largest power grid, announced a comprehensive technical review of all its contracts with American suppliers of electrical equipment—a move that effectively signifies China’s beginning to decouple from American technology.
At 2:17 p.m., China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the world’s largest state-owned oil company, announced a strategic reorganization of its global supply routes. This move effectively reactivated its “energy weapon” by canceling $47 billion in annual oil supply contracts with U.S. refineries.
Oil originally destined for the U.S. East Coast was redirected to India, Brazil, South Africa, and other countries in the Global South. This situation triggered a 23% surge in oil prices in a single trading session.
But above all, the strategic message was clear: China is capable of crippling the United States’ energy supply without even firing a shot.
In other news, the China Ocean Shipping Company, which controls approximately 40% of global shipping capacity, implemented what it called “operational route optimization.” As a result, Chinese ships began avoiding US ports such as Long Beach, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. These ports, which rely heavily on Chinese maritime logistics to maintain their supply chains, suddenly found themselves without 35% of their usual container traffic. This was a disaster for major companies like Walmart, Amazon, and Target, which depend on Chinese ships to import goods manufactured in China to US ports, as their supply chains partially collapsed within hours.
What was most striking about these actions was their synchronicity, which triggered a chain reaction that significantly amplified the economic impact.
This was not a gradual escalation, but a systemic shock designed to paralyze the United States’ ability to respond.
The US government had barely absorbed the initial blow when China activated a new set of measures: the mobilization of countries in the Global South. At 4:22 a.m. on January 4, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed to Brazil, India, South Africa, Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, and 23 other countries… Immediate preferential trade terms would be granted to any country that publicly pledged not to recognize any Venezuelan government coming to power with the support or intervention of the United States.
In less than 24 hours, 19 countries accepted the offer, with Brazil leading the way, followed by India, South Africa, and Mexico. Thus, the concept of a “de facto multipolar world” was taking shape.
China managed to form an anti-American coalition almost immediately, using the weapon of economic incentives.
The final blow came on January 5, when Beijing activated its financial weapon. The Chinese cross-border interbank payment system announced the expansion of its operational capacity to handle any international transaction wishing to bypass the SWIFT system, controlled by Washington. This means that China is offering the world a comprehensive and efficient alternative to the Western financial system. Any country, company, or bank wishing to conduct business without relying on the American financial infrastructure can now use the Chinese system, which is 97% cheaper and faster.
The reaction was immediate and massive: in the first 48 hours of operation, $89 billion worth of transactions were processed, and central banks from 34 countries opened operational accounts within the Chinese system, thus accelerating the dedollarization of one of the United States’ most important sources of funding.
On the technological front, China, which controls 60% of global rare earth production—elements essential for the semiconductor and electronics industries—has announced temporary restrictions on exports of these minerals to any country that supported the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro. This decision has sparked serious concern among American tech giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Intel, which rely on Chinese supply chains for their critical components, as their production systems are now threatened with collapse within weeks. Every Chinese initiative strikes a direct blow at the economic heart of the American empire.
“What has China done for Venezuela?” ask both friends and foes. The answer is clear: without declaring war, China is acting, influencing, and imposing new realities.
By: Kurt Grotsch, a German academic and researcher with a doctorate from the University of Nuremberg and an MBA from Madrid. He is a professor and lecturer at European and international universities. Specializing in culture, communication, and creative industries, he is the founder of several cultural centers and institutions. He is also Vice President of the China Chair and an ambassador for Minzu University in China.