CARACAS: Venezuelans braced for the deepening of a brutal economic crisis on Tuesday after the United States imposed sanctions sharply curbing the country’s vital oil exports, while the socialist government responded by refusing to load crude cargoes without payment.
The Trump administration hopes the sanctions, which bar state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela from collecting proceeds from crude sales to US refineries, pressure President Nicolas Maduro to step down and allow opposition leader and self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido to call elections.
In a defiant national broadcast on Monday night, Maduro said he would take legal action to challenge the sanctions and defend Citgo Petroleum Corp, PDVSA’s US refining subsidiary, which he accused the United States of trying to steal. He also pledged to retaliate, but did not announce any specific measures.
“We will provide the reciprocal and convincing response needed to defend Venezuela’s interests in due time,” Maduro said.
PDVSA responded to the sanctions by ordering customers with tankers waiting to load crude destined for the United States to prepay, according to three sources with knowledge of the decision. Such prepayment could be in violation of the sanctions, setting the stage for a standoff at the ports.
The loss of revenue from the United States, the No. 1 buyer of Venezuelan crude, was sure to further hamper the government’s ability to import basic goods like food and medicine, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis that has prompted more than 3 million people to flee the hyperinflation-stricken country in recent years.
“If you do not find a place for that crude quickly, the room for maneuver will shrink and imports will be affected,” said Asdrubal Oliveros, director of Caracas-based consultancy Ecoanalitica.
Guaido, who argues that Maduro usurped the presidency on taking office for a second six-year term on Jan. 10 following a May 2018 election considered fraudulent by the opposition, has said he is prepared to receive $20 million in humanitarian aid pledged by the United States.
He also moved to set up new boards of directors for Citgo and PDVSA, which could allow his parallel government to collect money held in escrow accounts in the United States.
But to truly control state functions, he would need the support of the military. It has so far stood by Maduro, who has kept officers’ support in part by granting them control of key state institutions like PDVSA, although the company’s output has collapsed in just over a year of military rule.
The sanctions threatened to hasten PDVSA’s unraveling.
“There is total shock. This company is already too beat-down,” a high-level manager said on Monday on condition of anonymity.
US sanctions threaten Venezuela’s economy as Maduro eyes next move
US sanctions threaten Venezuela’s economy as Maduro eyes next move
- The Trump administration hopes the sanctions, which bar state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela from collecting proceeds from crude sales to US refineries, pressure President Nicolas Maduro to step down
- The loss of revenue from the United States, the No. 1 buyer of Venezuelan crude, was sure to further hamper the government’s ability to import basic goods like food and medicine
African Union rejects ‘any recognition of Somaliland’ after Israel declaration
- Egypt’s foreign ministry said its top diplomat had spoken with his counterparts from Turkiye, Somalia and Djibouti, who together condemned the move and emphasized “their full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia”
- Israel repeatedly hit targets in Yemen after the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, in response to Houthi attacks on Israel that the rebels said were in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip
NAIROBI: The African Union on Friday said it “rejects any recognition of Somaliland” after Israel declared it viewed the breakaway Somali territory as a sovereign state.
In a statement issued by its head, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, the AU called for African borders to be respected and said: “Any attempt to undermine the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Somalia... risks setting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent.”
The chief of the pan-African body, which counts Somalia as a member, said he “firmly rejects any initiative or action aimed at recognizing Somaliland as an independent entity” and stating that Somaliland “remains an integral part of the Federal Republic of Somalia.”
While, Somalia reacted angrily on Friday after Israel formally recognized its northern region of Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” — the first country to do so.
Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, has for decades pushed for international recognition, which has been the key priority for president Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi since he took office last year.
But a Somali foreign ministry statement warned that the decision was “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty that would undermine peace in the region. Several other countries also condemned Israel’s decision.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he announced “the official recognition of the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state,” making Israel the first country to do so.
“The declaration is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” Netanyahu’s office said, referring to several agreements between Israel and Arab countries brokered by US President Donald Trump during his first presidency to normalize ties with Israel.
It said Netanyahu had invited Abdullahi to visit.
Hailing Israel’s decision, Abdullahi said in a post on X that it marked the beginning of a “strategic partnership.”
“This is a historic moment as we warmly welcome” he said, affirming “Somaliland’s readiness to join the Abraham Accords,” he added.
In Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, crowds of people took to the streets to celebrate, many carrying the flag of the breakaway state, said sources.
- ‘Illegitimate actions’ -
Somalia’s foreign ministry said: “Illegitimate actions of this nature seriously undermine regional peace and stability, exacerbate political and security tensions, in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Middle East and the wider region.”
Turkiye, a close ally of Somalia, also condemned the move.
“This initiative by Israel, which aligns with its expansionist policy... constitutes overt interference in Somalia’s domestic affairs,” it said in a foreign ministry statement.
Egypt’s foreign ministry said its top diplomat had spoken with his counterparts from Turkiye, Somalia and Djibouti, who together condemned the move and emphasized “their full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.”
In video showing Netanyahu speaking to Abdullahi by telephone, the Israeli leader said: “I want you to know that I am signing now as we speak Israel’s official recognition of the Somaliland,” adding that the new relationship would offer economic opportunities.
“I am very, very happy and I am very proud of this day and I want to wish you and the people of Somaliland the very, very best,” he said.
Netanyahu also said that he would communicate to Trump Abdullahi’s “willingness and desire to join the Abraham accords.”
A self-proclaimed republic, Somaliland enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden, has its own money, passports and army. But since its unilateral declaration of independence in 1991, it has grappled with decades of isolation.
- Strategic -
Analysts say matters of strategy were behind Israel’s drive to recognize Somaliland.
“Israel requires allies in the Red Sea region for many strategic reasons, among them the possibility of a future campaign against the Houthis,” said the Institute for National Security Studies in a paper last month, referring to Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels.
“Somaliland is an ideal candidate for such cooperation as it could offer Israel potential access to an operational area close to the conflict zone,” it said, adding there were also economic motives.
Israel repeatedly hit targets in Yemen after the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, in response to Houthi attacks on Israel that the rebels said were in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis have halted their attacks since a fragile truce began in Gaza in October.
Somaliland’s lack of international recognition has hampered access to foreign loans, aid and investment, and the territory remains deeply impoverished.
A deal between landlocked Ethiopia and Somaliland last year to lease a stretch of coastline for a port and military base enraged Somalia.
Israel has been trying to bolster relations with countries in the Middle East and Africa.
Historic agreements struck late in Trump’s first term in 2020 saw several countries including Muslim-majority United Arab Emirates and Morocco normalize relations with Israel, but wars that have stoked Arab anger, particularly in Gaza, have hampered recent efforts.
