Hands off Venezuela: Oil Industry Workers Protest against US Sanctions

Friday 1 February 2019

Hands off Venezuela: Oil Industry Workers Protest against US Sanctions

Hands off Venezuela: Oil Industry Workers Protest against US Sanctions

By Staff, Agencies

Workers of a Venezuelan oil giant, which was hit by the United States, have taken to the streets to support President Nicolas Maduro, calling on Washington to keep its “hands off” the oil industry.

Relatively, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who delivered a speech to the crowd, said all masks have been removed from the US President Donald Trump.

Rodriguez said that Trump, his Vice-President Mike Pence and his national security adviser John Bolton, “all without exception, have said they are coming for the oil of Venezuela and what is our response? Yankee hands, off our oil industry!”

In an address to the gathering, Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo said that Venezuelans “have to reject, unilaterally, arbitrary measures of theft of Citgo,” a company which operates three refineries in the US.

The Trump administration announced a new round of sanctions against oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela [PDVSA] earlier this week, to funnel income from the country’s main oil exporter into the hands of opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Guaido, who declared himself “interim president” last week, was immediately recognized as Venezuela’s rightful leader by Washington and its allies.

Maduro described the sanctions as “illegal, unilateral, immoral, [and] criminal,” saying Washington intended to steal the company from all Venezuelans.

To support the elected government of Maduro, and denounce what they believe to be a coup d’etat, protesters took to the streets of the capital Caracas on Thursday.

Maduro himself addressed Trump in an English message on Wednesday, urging him not to get involved with Venezuela. “Hands off Venezuela! Donald Trump, hands off Venezuela!” he tweeted.

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