Rodríguez sharply criticizes US influence in Venezuela

Rodríguez addressed oil workers in Anzoátegui state, stressing that Venezuelan politicians should "resolve our differences and conflicts."

"Enough of Washington’s orders to Venezuelan politicians, let Venezuelan politics resolve our differences and conflicts. Enough of foreign powers," Rodríguez said on Sunday, January 25, while speaking to oil industry workers in Anzoátegui.

Together with her brother Jorge Rodríguez, the head of the National Assembly, Delcy Rodríguez has intensified her rhetoric over the weekend as she seeks to balance conflicting demands from her supporters and the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Rodríguez met with Petróleos de Venezuela workers at the Puerto La Cruz refinery following criticism of a series of oil reforms that would dismantle the state monopoly and allow private companies to produce and sell crude oil from the country’s vast reserves.

Her comments came ahead of the second and final debate on the hydrocarbons law in the government-controlled National Assembly, with public consultations scheduled for Monday, January 26.

Analysts say that swift approval of the reform bill would indicate that resistance within the ruling Socialist Party — traditionally a strong supporter of state control and sovereignty over hydrocarbon resources — is currently limited or being managed. That assessment was made on Monday by Nicholas Watson, Teneo Managing Director.

US control over Venezuela’s oil sector

After the removal of Nicolás Maduro on January 3, the Trump administration took control of Venezuela’s oil production, refining, and international sales.

Trump said immediately afterward that Venezuela’s interim authorities would transfer between 30 and 50 million barrels of sanctioned, high-grade oil to the United States.

In recent days, the United States seized oil from seven recently taken Venezuelan tankers but declined to disclose their current locations.