Venezuelanalysis

Venezuela has overhauled its Hydrocarbons Law, opening the oil sector to more private participation. Days later, Washington authorized US firms to buy Venezuelan crude under strict conditions. Recovery strategy, or a shift in energy sovereignty? Watch the full report.

Defense attorney Barry Pollack told a US court that OFAC briefly authorized Venezuela to fund Maduro and Flores’ legal defense before revoking it hours later, citing interference with their ability to retain counsel. Read our full report here: shorturl.at/A0EDw

Venezuela Defeats US to Win World Baseball Classic Venezuela took home its first major international baseball trophy, surpassing its 2009 third-place finish. venezuelanalysis.com/images/venezue…

More imperial dignitaries. Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez and other deputies hosted a US delegation today. Chargé d'Affaires (and soon-to-be-ambassador) Laura Dogu was there with a delegation from the US Senate

Venezuela’s minimum wage has remained at 130 bolívars since March 2022, now worth about $0.29 due to currency devaluation. Labor groups say the constitution requires annual adjustments to keep pace with inflation. venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuela…

The US Justice Department opposed a motion by Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores to dismiss criminal charges, arguing that Treasury sanctions prohibit the use of state-linked funds to cover legal expenses and do not violate due process rights. Full report: shorturl.at/A0EDw

This is essentially an expansion of the license issued to the inside-track conglomerates (BP, Chevron, Eni, Maurel&Prom, Repsol, Shell) to all US corporations. We'll see who the next vultures to take advantage are venezuelanalysis.com/news/chevron-a…

Apart from blocking dealings w/ companies from China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Russia, the license mandates that contracts be subjected to US jurisdiction and all payments (royalties, taxes, dividends) be made into accounts run by the US Treasury

Another major step in the Trump administration's efforts to impose its semi-colonial control over the Venezuelan energy sector. General License 52 authorizes US entities to engage in transactions with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, but w/ the now-familiar restrictions (cont)

Venezuela and Colombia agreed to revive the 225-km Antonio Ricaurte pipeline to export Venezuelan natural gas to Colombian markets. President Gustavo Petro said full interconnection depends on lifting US sanctions needed to repair infrastructure. venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuela…

Venezuelan Defense Minister Replaced amid Rodríguez Cabinet Overhaul Padrino, who has a $15 million US bounty on his head, had helped squelch a string of coup attempts since his 2014 appointment. venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuela…

Venezuela defeated the United States 3–2 in Miami to win its first World Baseball Classic title, sealed by a ninth-inning double from Eugenio Suárez that broke the tie. Click here to explore the full gallery 👉🏽 shorturl.at/2nXmh

In theory, the answer to all those questions is "yes". However, at the moment the Venezuelan gov't is clearly betting on an alliance with (or subordination to) Western corporations. Furthermore, international companies, especially big ones, have been reluctant to deal with Vzla and risk secondary sanctions. PDVSA's own ability to develop the industry has been heavily hit by US sanctions, and to a lesser degree management/corruption issues

@venanalysis Thank you very much. PDVSA can deal say with Gazprom, Rosneft, Sinopec, Iranol or perhaps even TotalEnergies or TechnipEnergies - french ? Or develop some oil fields on its own with some help from China, perhaps ? And then export that oil without US oversight.

The license is not for the Vzlan govt to accept or reject, it's essentially telling US corporations "you can deal w/ Venezuela under these conditions." It's unlikely that they would enter into agreements with Venezuela under different conditions (assuming Vzla would do that, which is not happening right now) since then they could be sanctioned by the US Treasury Department. Venezuelan laws can be changed, but the situation is a bit more complicated. For example, right now under the reformed Hydrocarbon Law you can have companies like Shell signing 30-year deals, and having them subjected to international arbitration. So even if the winds change and the pro-capital reforms are undone, tearing these deals apart is not so straightforward. And Chevron would not do a deal behind Washington's back for 2 reasons. 1) It's not a risk worth taking and 2) Washington's impositions actually improve conditions for Chevron

@venanalysis Will the venezuelan government accept ? What can they do to bypass such colonial persecution ? Can they modify laws within say a year ? Simply refuse ? Or have a direct deal with Chevron to do that without informing Washington - busy elsewhere ? Thank you.

Count on the genocidal entity to try and murder the truth. Solidarity with Steve Sweeney

IRANIAN SCHOOLCHILDREN IN SOLIDARITY WITH MINAB MARTYRS Dr. Helyeh Doutaghi interviews Iranian children attending a memorial of the 165 Minab schoolchildren that were murdered by US-Israeli bombings on February 28th. The massacre was part of the opening aggression on Iran, launched by the United States and Israel, where nearly 200 Iranians lost their lives, including 165 schoolchildren that were less than 12 years old. The schoolchildren voice their solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran and their compatriots, denouncing US-Israeli criminality and aggression. @venanalysis @VoxUmmah @qiaocollective @ProgIntl @blkagendareport @OrinocoTribune @KawsachunNews

Looks like the orange emperor does not enjoy the "FO" part of FAFO

False alarm 😅. There was one more: Ana María Sanjuan is the new minister of higher education. From a quick search, she comes from the ranks of the (moderate) opposition x.com/delcyrodriguez…

One more ministerial change. Raúl Cazal is to become the new minister of culture, having served for a long time as vice minister. Current minister Ernesto Villegas is one of the candidates for the vacant ombudsman post. This change suggests he's likely to be picked