"American sweat, ingenuity and toil created the oil industry in Venezuela, Miller, who serves as White House deputy chief of staff, wrote in a social media post. Its tyrannical expropriation was the largest recorded theft of American wealth and property. These pillaged assets were then used to fund terrorism and flood our streets with killers, mercenaries and drugs."
"While US and British companies were involved in early oil exploration in Venezuela, the fuel belongs to the Latin American country under the international law principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources. Venezuela nationalised its oil sector in 1976 and brought it under the control of the state-owned PDVSA. Later, in 2007, the late left-wing President Hugo Chavez nationalised the remaining foreign oil projects in Venezuela, effectively ousting US oil giants like ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil."
"The US companies filed legal challenges to fight the expropriation process, and in 2014, a World Bank arbitration tribunal ordered Venezuela to pay Exxon Mobil $1.6bn. Legal proceedings remain ongoing. The US imposed sanctions on PDVSA in 2019, under Trump's first presidency. But Trump has ramped up his maximum pressure campaign against Venezuela since returning to office for a second term in January. Late on Tuesday, Trump announced a blockade on Venezuelan oil tankers, describing them as sanctioned."
A senior U.S. aide claimed Venezuelan oil belongs to the United States and called nationalisation theft, linking expropriated assets to terrorism and illicit flows. International law recognizes permanent sovereignty over natural resources, and Venezuela nationalised its oil industry in 1976 and completed expropriations by 2007 under Hugo Chávez, removing major foreign firms. U.S. companies pursued legal challenges, resulting in arbitration awards such as a $1.6bn order to be paid to Exxon Mobil. The United States imposed sanctions on PDVSA in 2019 and has intensified pressure, including a recent tanker blockade.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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