US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland tried to convince lawmakers at a March 8, 2022 hearing of the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee that the position of the Joe Biden administration towards the current Venezuelan authorities remained unchanged and outlined the objectives of the US delegation during its visit to the country:
“There is no turnaround in our strategy on Venezuela. <…> Primarily, the mission was to check on the condition of Americans imprisoned [in Venezuela]. <…> We also sought to bring the Venezuelan government back to the negotiating table with the opposition. <…> There were a number of other issues we discussed as well.”
Nuland is being sly. “Other issues” were the easing of US sanctions against Caracas on oil exports amid preparations for a decision to ban US energy imports from Russia. However, the US delegation to Venezuela has failed; it has failed to persuade the Venezuelan leadership to take its side. And one does not want to talk about failures.
Gaining control of Venezuela is extremely important to the United States. Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves of around 300 billion barrels. By gaining control of the oil-rich country, the US increases its control over the global oil market and gains the ability to dictate its prices.
In mid-February 2022, a Russian government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, who oversees the defense-industrial complex, visited Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, following that meeting, said the following: “We have reviewed military cooperation [with Russia] and approved the direction for a strong military cooperation between Russia and Venezuela to defend peace, sovereignty, protect territorial integrity.”
Thus, the Venezuelan leadership will continue to focus on Russia rather than the US.
Elena Panina