Maduro speaks out from US custody - Venezuela between oil strategy and domestic political pressure

The US government is under considerable domestic political pressure. Midterm elections are coming up in just over two months. And a large portion of the electorate is annoyed by the persistently high prices at the pump. In the past, the Republican government had used the country's oil reserves to at least somewhat mitigate the gasoline shock.

In order to significantly increase production, significant investments and work on the infrastructure in Venezuela are required. Venezuela's reserves are primarily heavy oil, which can only be extracted and refined using special technology. On the US Gulf Coast, refineries specialize in such crude oil. According to a CNN report, an increase in Venezuelan oil imports could increase refinery efficiency.

The reserves were tapped both under Trump and under the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden. The reasons for the global bottlenecks include Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the war against Iran started by the USA and Israel.

Maduro speaks out from US custody

The USA attacked the oil-rich South American country at the beginning of the year and arrested the then head of state Nicolás Maduro. Since then, Venezuela has been led by interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who is supported by Trump.

Rodriguez was part of Maduro's government, which human rights organizations accused of suppressing the opposition, corruption, disregard for democratic principles and mismanagement. Since Maduro's ouster, the actual opposition leader María Corina Machado has repeatedly been publicly sidelined by the US government.

Maduro himself spoke out from prison at the weekend. He is “steadfast,” he wrote in a message to his compatriots in Venezuela published on the Telegram online service on Sunday. He also published photos that apparently show him in his prison in the New York borough of Brooklyn.

"I'm sending these photos as a little gift to all my grandchildren, to the boys and girls and to all the good people who love us," wrote the 63-year-old. "I want you to know that we remain steadfast, with hearts filled with your love," he added. In the two published photos, Maduro is wearing a gray tracksuit and showing the peace sign with his hands. He appears to have lost significant weight since his arrest.