Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced that his government will review its diplomatic ties to the US, after a leaked document revealed that the National Security Agency had spied on officials at Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
By Andrew Fishman & Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept, Nov 19th 2015
This newest revelation of NSA spying, reported as part of The Intercept’s partnership with teleSUR, comes just weeks after the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. government has launched “a series of wide-ranging investigations” into alleged corruption at Petróleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA.
In a diplomatic visit to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pledged new resources to the island nation and proposed a special economic zone in the Caribbean to strengthen regional trade.
During a Tuesday live broadcast, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that the country’s heavy crude oil was selling for a six-year low of $37.95 a barrel and claimed outside forces would try driving the price to $20 before the December 6th parliamentary elections.
On Tuesday, Venezuelan officials outlined the 2016 budget, making emphasis on debt payment, while synchronous steps in oil diplomacy reveal an ongoing attempt to raise global prices.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said Saturday evening that Saudi King Salman and President Nicolas Maduro had spoken on the phone and reached an understanding concerning oil cooperation.
In the lead-up to talks with his Colombian counterpart, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro proposed a series of measures aimed at resolving the tense border conflict, including the sale of Venezuelan gasoline in the Colombian border city of Cucuta.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro set out for a diplomatic tour of Vietnam and China over the weekend, and plans to meet tomorrow in Beijing with Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss possible steps for stabilizing oil prices.
Eva Gollinger traces the neocolonial roots of the current Esquibo border dispute, arguing that the US and Exxon Mobil are backing Guyanese annexation of the contested territory in a bid to weaken Venezuela and shore up US influence in the Caribbean.
