标签： South America

Environmental experts are raising alarms about potential ecological consequences as the United States moves to revitalize Venezuela’s extensive petroleum reserves. This development follows heightened political tensions after the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro, prompting Washington to intensify control over Venezuela’s primary revenue source—oil exports.

The Trump administration’s strategy involves selling 30-50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude globally under US supervision, with proceeds maintained in American-controlled accounts. However, industry analysts question the feasibility of rapid production increases, noting that Venezuela’s energy infrastructure requires massive investment—potentially tens of billions of dollars—after years of deterioration.

Venezuela possesses the world’s largest oil reserves, estimated at 300 billion barrels, but produces heavy crude with exceptionally high pollution characteristics. Extraction and refining processes demand significantly more energy than conventional oil, resulting in substantially greater greenhouse gas emissions. According to International Energy Agency data, Venezuela’s methane emissions intensity exceeds global averages by approximately six times, while flaring intensity reaches ten times typical worldwide levels.

The country already faces severe environmental challenges, including nearly 200 documented oil spills between 2016-2021 and the loss of 2.6 million hectares of forest cover over two decades. Experts warn that renewed oil activity could exacerbate damage in ecosystems already compromised by decades of pollution, particularly in sensitive regions like Lake Maracaibo—one of the world’s most oil-contaminated aquatic environments.

While US officials claim American companies will implement high environmental standards, critics argue that rapid production expansion will likely prioritize output over ecological protections. The complex geography of Venezuela’s oil-producing regions, characterized by fragile plains and slow-moving rivers, creates conditions where contamination can persist for extended periods with devastating consequences for biodiversity and local communities.

The meticulously orchestrated capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro represents a watershed moment in modern intelligence and military operations. New disclosures reveal an unprecedented multi-agency mission involving months of strategic planning and cutting-edge technological warfare.

Operating in what intelligence communities classify as a ‘denied area’ without diplomatic cover, CIA operatives conducted extensive ground reconnaissance in Venezuela throughout August. Their success hinged on a crucial government source within Maduro’s inner circle who provided real-time intelligence on the leader’s movements—a testament to the penetration of his security apparatus.

The operational execution demonstrated remarkable coordination: approximately 150 aircraft participated in the mission, with helicopters flying at ultra-low altitudes to evade detection. The involvement of US Cyber Command proved pivotal, as their expertise facilitated a city-wide blackout in Caracas that provided critical cover for special forces insertion. Simultaneously, US Space Command created an invisible ‘pathway’ for forces to approach undetected, while advanced electronic warfare systems reportedly neutralized Chinese and Russian air defense systems.

The assault on Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, resulted in the deaths of 32 Cuban nationals serving as Maduro’s personal security detail. Notably absent were Venezuelan security forces at the compound’s inner perimeter, raising questions about possible internal collaboration. US forces intercepted Maduro moments before he could secure himself in a reinforced safe room, demonstrating precise knowledge of the compound’s layout.

Pre-operation analysis by CIA strategists concluded that maintaining stability would require cooperation with elements of the existing regime rather than installing exiled opposition figures. This assessment paved the way for back-channel communications with Maduro’s inner circle, including Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, to discuss transitional arrangements.

The mission’s flawless execution—achieved without US casualties—marks a paradigm shift in combined intelligence and military operations, though many technological and strategic details remain classified. America’s adversaries are now undoubtedly analyzing the operation to understand the full scope of capabilities demonstrated.

In a predawn maritime operation on Friday, U.S. military forces conducted a strategic boarding of the oil tanker Olina in the Caribbean Sea. The intervention represents the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s comprehensive campaign to control Venezuela’s oil production and distribution networks while enforcing international sanctions.

According to U.S. Southern Command, the operation involved Marines and Navy sailors deployed from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, part of a substantial naval presence built up in the Caribbean region over recent months. The Coast Guard subsequently assumed control of the vessel following the initial seizure. Unclassified footage released by military authorities and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem depicted a U.S. helicopter landing on the tanker’s deck, with personnel conducting thorough searches and deploying what appeared to be explosive breaching devices.

The Olina represents the fifth tanker intercepted by U.S. forces as part of Washington’s strategy to regulate Venezuela’s oil exports, and the third such seizure since the U.S. recognized the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Secretary Noem characterized the vessel as belonging to the so-called ‘ghost fleet’ of tankers attempting to transport embargoed petroleum products while evading detection.

President Trump announced via social media that the operation was conducted ‘in coordination with the Interim Authorities of Venezuela,’ though the White House provided no additional details regarding this collaboration. The Venezuelan government subsequently acknowledged cooperating with U.S. authorities to return the tanker, which they stated had departed without proper authorization or payment.

Maritime intelligence analysts from TankerTrackers.com identified at least 16 vessels that have departed Venezuela’s coast in violation of the U.S.-imposed quarantine blocking sanctioned ships from conducting trade. The Olina, previously sanctioned for moving Russian oil under the name Minerva M, was reportedly flying a false flag of Timor-Leste despite being registered to a Hong Kong-based company. The vessel had been operating with its location beacon disabled since November.

The administration has framed these seizures as both a law enforcement measure and an economic strategy. Officials anticipate selling 30-50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil, with proceeds designated for both American and Venezuelan interests. President Trump met with oil executives Friday to discuss a proposed $100 billion investment plan to rebuild Venezuela’s energy infrastructure, while Vice President JD Vance emphasized the U.S. could control Venezuela’s ‘purse strings’ by dictating oil distribution channels.

Industry experts estimate the Olina was carrying approximately 707,000 barrels of oil valued at over $42 million at current market prices.

CARACAS, Venezuela — While Washington pledges a golden economic future for Venezuela following the dramatic capture of former President Nicolás Maduro, ordinary citizens confront a starkly different reality of hyperinflation and severe scarcity that defines daily existence.

At a sprawling street market in the capital, utility worker Ana Calderón illustrates the profound disconnect between political promises and ground-level suffering. Her immediate concern isn’t geopolitical shifts but the impossible mathematics of assembling a simple pot of soup. “Food is incredibly expensive,” she states, noting how celery now costs twice what it did weeks ago while a kilogram of meat sells for more than $10—a sum representing 25 times the country’s frozen monthly minimum wage of just $0.40.

This economic catastrophe has unfolded despite Venezuela possessing the world’s largest proven oil reserves. The current crisis finds its roots in the Chavez-Maduro era, where corruption, declining production, and disastrous economic policies created a perfect storm. Since 2012, poverty has engulfed approximately 80% of the population, the middle class has virtually disappeared, and more than 7.7 million people have fled their homeland.

President Trump’s administration vows that American intervention will channel billions into infrastructure, revitalize the crippled oil industry, and ultimately restore prosperity. Commitments include distributing oil sale proceeds to Venezuelans and repairing the collapsed electricity grid. However, the immediate White House focus appears centered on extracting more Venezuelan oil and opening the sector to U.S. investment—a process Trump acknowledges “will take years.”

Economists express profound skepticism about rapid improvement. Luisa Palacios, a Venezuelan-born scholar at Columbia University, observes that while people remain hopeful, “they don’t see it yet on the ground. What they’re seeing is repression. They’re seeing a lot of confusion.” Usha Haley, an economist specializing in emerging markets, confirms that rampant inflation and currency collapse cannot be solved by a single oil sale, predicting that “jobs, prices, and exchange rates will probably not shift quickly.”

For now, Venezuelans survive through a philosophy of “resolver”—figuring out each day through multiple jobs, delicate financial calculations, and heartbreaking choices between medicine and food. As vendor Neila Roa summarizes while selling cigarettes to survive: “What we don’t know is whether the change is for better or for worse. We’re in a state of uncertainty.”

In a landmark judicial decision, Argentina’s federal court has mandated the continuation of investigations into alleged crimes against humanity committed by Venezuela’s National Guard officers. This ruling, issued Thursday, rejects an appeal from a former Venezuelan officer challenging Argentina’s jurisdictional authority and instead invokes the principle of universal jurisdiction—a legal doctrine enabling nations to prosecute severe human rights violations regardless of where they occurred.

The case, initiated in 2023, centers on accusations against 14 officers involved in the violent suppression of anti-government protests in 2014, during which security forces under President Nicolás Maduro allegedly engaged in torture, extrajudicial killings, and systematic repression. The court’s refusal to dismiss the case emphasizes the ‘extreme gravity’ of these allegations, compelling Argentina’s judiciary to pursue accountability.

This development occurs amid complex geopolitical shifts. While the recent U.S. military intervention led to Maduro’s capture and the surprise appointment of Delcy Rodríguez as acting president, many Venezuelan rights advocates express skepticism about Washington’s commitment to human justice. Instead, they view Argentina’s legal perseverance as a more reliable pathway to accountability, especially given Venezuela’s entrenched impunity and the slow mechanisms of the International Criminal Court.

Argentina’s role in such investigations is historically significant. Having successfully prosecuted its own military junta for atrocities committed during the 1976–1983 dictatorship, the country has emerged as a global hub for transnational justice. It has previously addressed cases ranging from Franco-era crimes in Spain to the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Despite ideological alignments between Argentine President Javier Milei and the U.S. administration—both of whom celebrated Maduro’s capture—the Argentine judiciary remains independent. Its continued pursuit of this case signals a commitment to legal principles over political expediency. For Venezuelan victims and activists, this offers a beacon of hope amid fears that geopolitical interests, particularly concerning Venezuela’s oil reserves, may overshadow demands for justice and democratic restoration.