Venezuela January 29, 2019
US Coup in Venezuela Motivated by Oil and Corporate Interests Militarist
John Bolton Spills the Beans
In an interview on Fox Business, Trumps hyper-militaristic National
Security Adviser John Bolton admitted the US-led coup in Venezuela is
motivated by oil and corporate interests.
By Ben Norton
US President Donald Trumps hyper-militaristic National Security Adviser
John Bolton spilled the beans in an interview on Fox Business, admitting
that the United States government is working with corporations to target
Venezuelas massive oil reserves.
Were looking at the oil assets, Bolton said. Thats the single most
important income stream to the government of Venezuela. Were looking at
what to do to that.
Were in conversation with major American companies now, he continued. I
think were trying to get to the same end result here.
It will make a big difference to the United States economically if we could
have American oil companies really invest in and produce the oil
capabilities in Venezuela, Bolton admitted.
On January 23, the US government initiated a political coup attempt in
Venezuela, seeking to replace the government of socialist President Nicolás
Maduro with Juan Guaidó and a neoliberal capitalist opposition that has
pledged to privatize state assets and welcome in corporate partnerships.
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, and the democratically
elected leftist government of former President Hugo Chávez kicked out US oil
corporations and used his nations natural resources to fund social services
for poor and working-class Venezuelans.
The Trump administration has seized control of Venezuelan state assets in
the US and given them to supposed interim president Juan Guaidó, in a bid
to fund his coup regime. On January 28, the US also imposed sanctions on
Venezuelas state oil company, PDVSA, in an attempt to transfer control to
the right-wing opposition.
Transcript
A full transcript of Boltons exchange with Fox Business host Trish Regan on
January 24 follows below:
JOHN BOLTON: Were looking at the oil assets. Thats the single most
important income stream to the government of Venezuela. Were looking at
what to do to that.
We want everybody to know, were looking at all this seriously. We dont
want any American businesses or investors caught by surprise. They can see
what President Trump did yesterday. Were following through on it.
TRISH REGAN: So if you think of a company like Citgo, which is owned by
PDVSA, which is the state-run oil company there in Venezuela, we have a lot
of those Citgo assets right here in the US. Is that something, for example
sir, that you are looking at?
JOHN BOLTON: Yeah look, were in conversation with major American companies
now that are either in Venezuela, or in the case of Citgo here in the United
States. I think were trying to get to the same end result here.
Venezuela is one of the three countries I called the Troika of Tyranny.
It will make a big difference to the United States economically if we could
have American oil companies really invest in and produce the oil
capabilities in Venezuela.
It would be good for Venezuela; it would be good for the people of the
United States. We both have a lot at stake here making this come out the
right way.
Ben Norton
Ben Norton is a journalist and writer. He is a reporter for The Grayzone,
and the producer of the Moderate Rebels podcast, which he co-hosts with Max
Blumenthal.