Venezuela, Trump, Oil, Machado: developments within this South American country by Ann Smith.

 

Venezuela’s rocky relationship with the United States has spanned decades, from Hugo Chávez’s rise in 1999 to Nicolás Maduro’s disputed rule today. Accusations of U.S.-backed coups, Washington’s support for opposition leader Juan Guaidó, and Venezuela’s contested 2024 election have kept tensions high. When rival candidate María Corina Machado was barred from running, doubts over Maduro’s reelection spread worldwide. Her reappearance at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony after years in hiding has now thrust Venezuela’s political struggle back into the global spotlight.  

Venezuela is in the north of South America, a large triangular country the combined size of France and Germany. Compared to other South American countries, economic development has been fast. During the 20th century it was transformed from a relatively poor agrarian society to a rapidly urbanizing one. From 1958 it was politically stable under democratic rule with a thriving petroleum industry that benefitted from the world’s largest known oil reserves. This situation changed as a result of the rule of revolutionary leader Hugo Chávez, alongside decline in the wealth of its petroleum industry, and the increasing authoritarianism since 2013 of Chávez’s successor, Nicolás Maduro. 

Recent Developments. 

Unsurprisingly, US President Mr. Trump is involved. The current US administration does not recognise Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader with sanctions on Venezuelan oil being imposed since 2019. This week, the US seized a Venezuelan oil tanker and imposed fresh sanctions on shipping companies and vessels doing business with Caracas.  

Since the seizure, only tankers chartered by US oil company Chevron have sailed into international waters carrying Venezuelan crude. Chevron has US government authorization to operate through joint ventures in the country and export its oil to the US. Other tankers are stuck in Venezuelan waters. The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said this week that the Skipper has been retained under a seizure warrant. 

The tanker is now sailing to Houston, where it will offload its cargo onto smaller ships. It is feasible that Washington is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil and subsequently imposed new sanctions on three nephews of Maduro’s wife and six tankers linked to them. 

Donald Trump has suggested there might be US military intervention in Venezuela. 

Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado.  

The impressive Machado Maria Corina Machado Parisca has been the leader of the Venezuelan opposition party, Vente Venezuela, since 2002. Machado is a wise and thoughtful woman with a degree in industrial engineering and a Masters in finance. She campaigns for transparent democracy, liberal economic reforms, including the privatization of state-owned enterprises such as PDVSA, Venezuela’s oil company. She also supports welfare programmes aimed at aiding the country’s poorest. 

This week, Machado was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee said it had decided to award the prize to Machado “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”. 

In 2002 she led a referendum to recall Hugo Chavez, from office over his authoritarian policies. Machado was accused of treason and her family received death threats from Chavez supporters, forcing her to send her children to live abroad. 

In 2023, she won the Venezuelan opposition’s presidential primary after taking a decisive lead, placing her in a prime position to challenge socialist leader Maduro at elections in 2024. A year later, Venezuela’s Supreme Justice Tribunal upheld a ban that prevented Machado from holding office. Members of Machado’s party were accused of attempted to rob a military weapons arsenal in 2023 before a planned assault on a pro-Maduro state governor. The court upheld claims that Machado supported US sanctions, had been involved in corruption, and had lost money for Venezuela’s foreign assets, including United States-based oil refiner Citgo and chemicals company Monomeros. Despite these events, Machado continued campaigning far and wide. 

Today, she is isolated in Venezuela as nearly all of her senior advisers have been detained or forced to leave the country following threats by Maduro and his supporters.  

After slipping out of the country in secret to collect the Nobel peace prize. At a recent BBC interview, she promised Maduro would leave power “whether there is a negotiated changeover or not”. She also vowed she was focused on a peaceful transition, Interestingly, she thanked US President Mr. Donald Trump for his “decisive support.” 

What next for Venezuela? 

At kingstonmouth.com, we believe Venezuela stands at a crossroads that will define its future. Once a nation of immense promise, with the world’s largest oil reserves and a proud democratic tradition, it has been dragged into decline by authoritarianism and economic mismanagement. The courage of María Corina Machado—emerging from years in hiding to accept the Nobel Peace Prize—reminds the world that Venezuela’s struggle is not just about politics, but about the universal right to freedom and dignity. With U.S. sanctions tightening, oil tankers seized, and the possibility of military intervention, the stakes could not be higher. For us, Machado’s defiance is a call to action. Venezuela’s people deserve a transparent democracy, and the world must not look away as this chapter unfolds. 

Ann Smith is a British Educator and Social Activist. Kingstommouth.com is a charitable organization that has been in existence for over ten years with an interest in Politics, Human Rights, and International Development Issues. Readers wishing to comment on this article may do so on this blog. Alternatively, they can contact us at kingstonmouth 63@ gmail.com or on our twitter or Facebook Page.