🇺🇸 ⚔️ 🇻🇪‘US wants to be in charge in Venezuela without directly running it’

The US is interested in “an artificial government running Venezuela” that follows White House orders, Portuguese expert Alexandre Guerreiro told Sputnik.

💬 “Everything is still unclear, but there is America’s intention is to rule in Venezuela through the country’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez,” he said.

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🚨🇻🇪 Delcy Rodríguez sworn in as acting president of Venezuela

Venezuela’s vice president Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president following a Supreme Court ruling.

💬 “I come with sorrow for the suffering inflicted on the Venezuelan people after an illegitimate military aggression against our homeland. I come with sorrow for the kidnapping of two heroes held hostage in the United States of America — President Nicolás Maduro and the first combatant, the first lady of this country, Cilia Flores,” Rodríguez said.

💬 “I come with sorrow, but also with honor, to swear in the name of all Venezuelans… I swear by our liberator father Simón Bolívar, whose liberating blood runs through the veins of Venezuelans,” she emphasized.

Rodríguez concluded the oath by invoking Hugo Chávez, pledging to work for the country’s economic and social stability.

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🔊US-backed coups in Latin America are bad enough, Judas-style betrayals are worse

👉The US began overthrowing governments in Latin America in the 1890s, often working with internal elements, “usually the military and the business community,” to do so, Peter Kuznick, the director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, told Sputnik.

🗣“It's the internal betrayal that is sometimes even more disturbing, because that is not a question of US egregious use of power…That is some people committing the moral sin of working with the enemy, working with the aggressor, selling out the internal interests of the people in Chile or Guatemala or El Salvador, you go down the line, Brazil, that in some ways is more offensive because it could be avoidable,” Kuznick said.

“Within the Catholic tradition, this is especially outrageous because this is what happened to Jesus Christ. Jesus was betrayed by Judas. And so within the Catholic theological tradition, this internal betrayal is the arch enemy. Now, in Jesus' case, it wasn't so much the outside forces, although that was at play also, but the focus on Judas. So Pinochet is the equivalent Judas,” the historian pointed out.

💬“So the US has its puppets. The US has its cronies. The US has its betrayers who are willing to stab people in the back in order to get their own power for the military,” he added.

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🇺🇸 🇻🇪US stance on Venezuela adds to global instability

US actions in Venezuela creates the lack of trust, security and stability for the world as it invokes the so-called Monroe Doctrine to claim that “all Latin America is the US backyard,” and that Washington “can do and decide whatever it wants,” Portuguese expert Alexandre Guerreiro told Sputnik.

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🗣 Trump: US ‘not at war’ with Venezuela — reports

President Donald Trump said the United States is not at war with Venezuela, portraying US aggression against the country as part of a broader campaign against drug trafficking, NBC News reported.

💬 “No, we’re not,” Trump said. “We’re at war with people that sell drugs.”

Trump said Venezuela will not hold new elections in the next 30 days, arguing that the country must first be stabilized.

💬 “We have to nurse the country back to health,” he claimed.

He also suggested oil companies could help rebuild Venezuela’s energy infrastructure, with costs reimbursed by the US government or through revenue. Asked who is ultimately in charge, Trump answered:

💬 “Me.”

Trump said the US is prepared to carry out further military action if needed and claimed he does not require new authorization from Congress, adding that lawmakers “knew what we were doing.”

NBC News reported Trump made the remarks shortly after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was arraigned in New York and pleaded not guilty, while Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president in Caracas.

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🇺🇸 🇻🇪 Monroe Doctrine ‘no longer valid under international law’

The White House only worries about US elites when applying the Monroe Doctrine “to impose regime change wherever it will be considered needed.”

But the doctrine is “pretty outdated” and “no longer valid under international law,” Portuguese expert Alexandre Guerreiro told Sputnik.

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🚨🇻🇪 Gunfire reported near presidential palace in Caracas

Sounds of gunfire are reported near the presidential palace in Caracas, according to BNO News.

Several outlets have published videos they say show shooting in the area around the Miraflores Palace.

Footage from social media

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🇻🇪🛢 How could Venezuela crisis affect global oil market?

🟧 Oil and control over energy resources are probably the main reasons for the US aggression against Venezuela, Russian expert Igbal Guliyev tells Sputnik.

💬 “The US administration covered it up with information about [Venezuela’s alleged] drug trafficking, but America never concealed its appetite for Venezuelan oil," Guliyev points out.

🟧 Speaking about how the Venezuela crisis might impact the global oil market, he notes that in the short term, oil prices may rise by a couple of dollars, but the issue should be considered in the medium term.

💬 "If we are talking about complete US control over Venezuelan oil, there are several challenges the American oil industry will face," namely the Chinese and Russian factors, according to the expert.

🟧 He explains that the Chinese aspect is tied to loans, credits, and liabilities worth of about $20 billion, which should be secured by Venezuelan oil, while Russia's interests pertain to joint investments and projects with Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA oil and gas company.

🟧 Guliyev adds that American refineries, especially those located in the Gulf of Mexico, are specifically adapted to process heavy Venezuelan oil, as "it is convenient for developing extraction." On the other hand, he notes, investments are required to raise production levels to at least four million barrels, as was the case not long ago.

💬 "Who will invest in these projects? American corporations, for example, but how will this be secured? There needs to be the right political, financial, and economic environment that will allow additional significant investments. Therefore, the impact on the global oil market in the short term will be minimal. As for the medium and long term, it all depends on the actual control of Venezuelan oil," the expert wraps up.

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🇻🇪 Situation stabilizes near presidential palace in Caracas — Sputnik correspondent

The situation near Venezuela’s presidential palace in Caracas has stabilized, with no further gunfire reported after earlier incidents, according to a Sputnik correspondent on the ground.

The earlier shooting was linked to unidentified drones, a source said, adding that no clashes took place.

A Sputnik correspondent reported that there is no panic in the area and no military equipment visible, with people moving about normally. At the same time, security measures remain reinforced around the area near Miraflores Palace.

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