Colombian President Gustavo Petro taunted U.S. counterpart Donald Trump over recent comments about the justification of the country’s blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan tankers.
“Texas is a territory that was invaded. It wasn’t sold. So was California and all of southern U.S.,” Petro began.
He was making reference to the fact that Trump demanded on Wednesday that Venezuela return assets it seized from U.S. oil companies years ago. “You remember they took all of our energy rights. They took all of our oil not that long ago. And we want it back. They took it — they illegally took it,” Trump said.
Petro went on to say that a “Latin American President can’t say ‘give it back, it was stolen from us.” “But he (Trump) can say ‘give it back, it was stolen’ when talking about Venezuelan oil. So let’s make a deal. You give back what you stole from and and what they think we stole from them, which we haven’t, well let’s discuss it,” he added.
Fortune noted that U.S. oil companies played a leading role in Venezuela’s oil industry for decades until different governments nationalized the sector, first in the 1970s and in recent years by Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro. Compensation offered by Venezuela was deemed insufficient, the outlet added, recalling that in 2014 an international arbitration panel ordered the country to pay $1.6 billion to ExxonMobil.
The Trump administration reportedly intends to continue with the blockade, and could even move into Venezuelan waters to seize more, according to a recent report.
Forces are currently waiting for the vessels to leave the waters to seize them, but they could go in if they delay much, a Trump official told Axios.
The outlet noted that as many as 18 sanctioned ships are in Venezuela’s waters, with eight being classified as “Very Large Cargo Container ships,” which can carry almost 2 million barrels, the outlet added.
The official said if tankers leave Venezuelan waters the Trump administration will “go to court, get a warrant and then get them.” However, if they “make us wait too long, we might get a warrant to get them there,” the official added.
The Guardian reported that the South American country’s oil exports have plummeted after the seizure last week.
Since the seizure, the outlet claimed, only tankers chartered by U.S. oil company Chevron have sailed through the region carrying Venezuelan crude.
Originally published on Latin Times
