Maduro says the real reason for Trump's Venezuela fixation is oil is he right?

"Venezuela's dictator, Nicolas Maduro, says the real motive behind the massive US military buildup in the Caribbean is oil: his country has the largest proven reserves in the world. The US state department denies this, insisting that the airstrikes on boats that have killed more than 80 people and the vast military deployment off South America are part of a campaign against drug trafficking."

"However, Trump has proved happy to reach an understanding with authoritarian leaders elsewhere, and airstrikes on small boats in the Caribbean are unlikely to have much impact on the flow of drugs most of which enter the country through Mexico leading critics of the US president to conclude that there must be another motive at work. Colombia's leftist president, Gustavo Petro who is himself in an increasingly bitter feud with Trump has described the three-month campaign against Caracas as a negotiation about oil,"

"But analysts familiar with how Venezuela's oil sector operates say it is not that simple. I think oil may be one of the motivations [of the military buildup], but not the main one. It's just part of the picture, said Francisco J Monaldi, director of the Latin America Energy Program at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, in Houston."

"First of all, Venezuela is a very small player at this point, he said. The country has almost a fifth of all known global reserves but it accounts for less than 1% of world production. Most of Venezuela's reserves are heavy sour crude, which is more difficult and expensive to extract. Meanwhile, its oil sector has been hamstrung by decades of corruption, mismanagement and underinvestment."

Nicolas Maduro claims the US military buildup in the Caribbean aims to seize Venezuela's oil, citing the country's vast proven reserves. The US State Department denies that, saying airstrikes on boats that have killed more than 80 people and the regional deployment target drug trafficking. Donald Trump appears focused on regime change in a country aligned with China, Russia and Iran that has suffered economic collapse and the region's largest migration crisis. Critics argue small-boat airstrikes will not stem drug flows, and Colombia's president calls the campaign a negotiation about oil. Analysts say oil may be a motivation but not the primary one, noting Venezuela produces under 1% of global supply and faces extraction and institutional problems.

Read at www.theguardian.com