Venezuela broke off diplomatic relations with the United States in 19 because of its rivalry with Trump, what was the result?
The United States, which has long been considered the world's sole superpower, calls itself the "world's policeman" and intervenes in anything that does not suit its wishes, trying to make the world work as it wishes.
Many countries have been forced to bow to the United States, and only a few have chosen to follow in the footsteps of the United States, hoping to get a piece of the pie. However, there are still some countries that are firmly opposed to the United States, and in the face of US sanctions and threats, they have chosen to sever diplomatic relations and close the US embassy, demanding that US personnel leave the country within a time limit.
What will be the result of such a move?
Venezuela has long been considered an "anti-American" country, but many such countries have historically had honeymoon periods with the United States, including Iran, and Venezuela is no exception.
Venezuela, a former Spanish colony, plunged into a turbulent state of regime change after independence, and like many South American countries, the ambitions of its military drove them to launch one coup d'état after another.
The great powers of the West usually ignore the rotation of regimes in these small countries, because they believe that changes in these small countries will not have an impact on the big ones. However, at the beginning of the last century, when Venezuelan General Juan Vicente Gómez came to power through a military coup, he adopted a very different strategy.
He actively moved closer to the West, especially currying favor with the United States, and promised that he would live up to his Venezuelan promises. As a result, the United States, France and other countries have recognized Gomez**.
In Rainevilla, Castro tried to return to the center of power, but was intervened by the US military. After Gomez came to power, he fulfilled some of his promises, such as freedom of speech and the release of political prisoners.
However, soon after, Gomez began a military rule that suppressed progressive forces and led to domestic turmoil in Venezuela. However, Western countries such as the United States do not care about the democratic process in Venezuela, they only care about Venezuela's rich oil resources.
According to data as of December 31, 2010, Venezuela has 296.5 billion barrels of oil, surpassing Saudi Arabia's nearly 30 billion barrels and becoming the world's largest oil reserve.
At that time, although it was uncertain how much oil there was in Venezuela, the Western oil companies that entered Venezuela were pleasantly surprised to find that the oil was fairly easy to extract.
For example, Shell Oil Company's Los Barossos No. 2 oil well in the country's La Rosa field had a blowout, with more than 100,000 barrels per day erupting over a 10-day period.
The discovery surprised foreign capital, which poured into Venezuela to lease land and extract oil. Data shows that at the beginning of the last century, there were as many as 73 foreign oil companies in Venezuela, leasing more than 30 million hectares of land, and the United States accounted for 80% of it.
Oil wealth has allowed Venezuela to have a sweet time with the United States, and the United States has also advanced fighter jets to enhance Venezuela's air force. But the honeymoon period will eventually pass.
On the one hand, Gomez's 27-year rule has sparked discontent in Venezuela, and U.S. supporters have also been affected. On the other hand, Venezuela** relies on U.S. loans to develop its economy, but due to the wrong policies that have exacerbated inflation, soaring prices and social unrest, the people are even more dissatisfied, believing that foreign capital has encroached on their wealth.
Thus, the "anti-American fighter" Chávez appeared. The sweet honeymoon period is contrasted with staunch anti-American sentiment.
Although Chávez once expressed a desire to improve relations with the United States, he was snubbed by the United States as a result. Behind this phenomenon is the introduction of a new oil law under the Chávez administration, which increases the operating costs of foreign companies and affects the interests of the United States in Venezuela.
Chávez's "collective ownership," in which large farms were nationalized and idle land distributed to the poor, was a move that clearly touched American interests, although contrary to American values.
In order to consolidate its interests in Latin America, the United States has put forward the "Free Zone of the Americas" plan. However, Chávez is acutely aware that this plan is essentially to allow countries to open their markets to the United States, and in the event of disputes, international institutions will arbitrate them, and the countries concerned cannot interfere.
This practice constitutes a grave violation of the sovereignty of States. Therefore, Chavez not only openly opposed the "Free Zone of the Americas", but also exposed its true purpose on various occasions, further inspiring resistance among Latin American countries to this plan that only pursues the maximization of American interests.
Chávez's anti-American stance toward the United States has become increasingly obvious, especially after the 9/11 attacks, when he resolutely opposed the United States' use of war to solve the problem of terrorism, and even blamed the United States for the killing of innocent children, which led to the recall of the US ambassador to Venezuela by George W. Bush.
In 2003, Chávez condemned the U.S. aggression against Iraq and demanded that George W. Bush resign voluntarily. In 2006, Chavez banned the use of Christmas trees and Santa Claus in public because he considered them "an American holiday sign," a culmination in his anti-American struggle.
Unfortunately, Chávez was diagnosed with cancer, which he publicly stated was caused by the United States, and chose Deputy Maduro as his posthumous "until a new one is generated."
Maduro, like Chavez, is a fierce anti-American fighter. After Chávez's death, Maduro first served as the first of the two and in the 2013 election, he was successfully elected as the first of Venezuela.
Maduro's Venezuela is prosperous on the surface, the gap between the rich and the poor has narrowed, and the welfare system for the poor such as medical care, education, and housing is generous, which has won the support of the people. However, this high welfare system also carries the risk of crime and inflation problems.
At the same time, Venezuela's economy is too dependent on oil and has a homogeneous economic structure, which is very fragile. At the beginning of 2015, the Venezuelan economy was hit hard by the sharp increase in oil, and many people followed the opposition to the streets, with problems such as inflation, crime and food shortages.
Maduro has always adhered to the anti-American concept in the political situation in Venezuela, which undoubtedly gives the United States a chance to overthrow Venezuela**. As a result, the United States began to support the opposition in Venezuela, and continued to increase economic and financial sanctions, and even repeatedly proposed military intervention.
However, Maduro did not give in and instead won the national elections again in 2018 and remained in Venezuela**. This has made the United States even more dissatisfied, and they have refused to recognize Maduro's new term of office on high-sounding grounds such as "democracy" and "human rights", and have further increased sanctions against Venezuela.
At the same time, Trump, who was the United States at the time, also issued a statement acknowledging the opposition Guaidó's self-declaration of "temporary" inauguration, in an attempt to overthrow Maduro**.
Maduro signed a document announcing the formal severance of diplomatic relations with the United States and demanding that diplomats at the U.S. embassy evacuate Venezuela within 72 hours. His decisive actions showed great courage to openly oppose the superpower, the United States, and it is rare for him to take such drastic diplomatic measures.
After all, many countries in the world that oppose the United States or do not conform to their wishes have either been attacked by the United States with military force, and the country has fallen into war, or has been sanctioned by the United States, and people's livelihoods have withered.
So, what impact will Maduro's move have on Venezuela and the United States?
Since 2019, Venezuela has seen its revenues plummet by 99% and public services almost paralyzed due to increased US sanctions, freezing all of its assets in the United States and supporting the opposition, which we have to admit with regret.
The deterioration of health care services in Venezuela and the severe shortage of medical staff, medical equipment and facilities have led to rising maternal, infant and seriously ill mortality rates.
However, despite this, the United States has not achieved its goal of overthrowing Maduro** and supporting the Venezuelan opposition to power. On the contrary, due to the recent international situation, the United States had to adjust its attitude and begin to "make overtures" with Venezuela.
The regional conflict that erupted at the beginning of the year led to a surge in international energy**, and Europe is struggling to wean itself off Russian energy. Against this background, Venezuela, an oil powerhouse, has come into the eyes of Western countries.
At this year's G7 summit, France reportedly put forward an initiative to "diversify fuels", including the "reintroduction" of oil from Iran and Venezuela to Western markets, which were sanctioned by the United States.
However, according to the usual practice of the United States, the United States should use sanctions as an excuse to block this action in Europe at this time. However, the reality is that oil tankers loaded with Venezuela** have already departed for Europe.
Surprisingly, the United States chose to "acquiesce" to this, and even said that if Europe resumes the "oil debt" agreement with Venezuela, Washington will "not object" and will not "penalize" the relevant oil companies.
In the face of the "oil shortage" in Europe, the United States had to ease sanctions on Venezuela in order to ease the pressure on Europe. In addition, senior U.S. officials secretly visited Venezuela in the hope of releasing several previously imprisoned U.S. citizens, including "U.S. spies" with U.S. backgrounds.
This is the first White House visit to Venezuela since more than 20 years ago. Clearly, the United States is taking action to ease relations with Venezuela and try to resolve issues involving American citizens.
According to analysts, the recent visit of the United States seems to indicate that they are looking for a way to solve the problem, looking for a "step" to ease tensions. The United States hopes that the Venezuelan side will release the ** personnel first, and then they will gradually lift the sanctions against Venezuela.
However, if Venezuela insists on not letting people go, then the United States may choose to lift the sanctions on its own, which will undoubtedly make the United States "slap itself in the face". After the release of the two Americans in Venezuela, the United States has taken a series of actions, such as signing a license that allows American oil companies to continue basic maintenance of oil wells in Venezuela, and lifting some of the most ** sanctions on Venezuela.
There is a certain "deal" behind these actions. Judging by the international situation, it is clear that these actions of the United States are for the sake of oil. At present, international oil prices are at a high level, and the United States hopes to reduce oil prices and curb inflation through "deals" with Middle Eastern countries.
Oil powerhouses the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have said they can't increase production anymore because they have reached their limits. In this case, the United States turned to countries that were subject to its own sanctions for help, hoping that they would be able to increase their production capacity.
In addition, the U.S. visit to Venezuela revealed an important message that although the U.S. has not publicly acknowledged Maduro, the U.S. side has been in contact with Maduro and has not been in contact with the opposition Guaidó.
This shows that the United States has actually recognized Maduro's power in Venezuela, which can be said to be a gesture of goodwill by the United States to Maduro. Therefore, Maduro is also willing to restore ties with the United States, and the possibility of a thaw in bilateral relations and a return to normal bilateral relations remains.
For Maduro, Venezuela selling more oil would bring significant benefits. In short, although the time dragged on a little long, Venezuela did not seem to lose this time challenging the United States.