Washington, Feb 25, (dpa/GNA) – Nearly two months after the capture of authoritarian Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, US President Donald Trump has described the South American country as an ally.
“We’ve just received from our new friend and partner Venezuela, more than 80 million barrels of oil,” Trump said in his State of Union address to both chambers of Congress on Tuesday.
Until recently, relations between the United States and Venezuela had been tense. On January 3, US forces captured Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in Caracas, and took them to New York where they have been charged with drug offences.
Since then, Venezuela has been in a phase of political upheaval.
Delcy Rodríguez, who served as vice president under Maduro, took over at the helm of the oil-rich country following the US intervention.
Rodríguez is now seen as a key contact for the US government, particularly in negotiations over the country’s huge oil reserves.
GNA