Venezuela Claims U.S. Wants to 'Take Over' Global Oil and Gas to Sustain Dominance

Venezuela's vice president and hydrocarbons minister, Delcy Rodríguez, said that the United States seeks to "take over" the world's oil and gas resources to preserve its global dominance.

Speaking at the 14th Russian International Gas Forum in St. Petersburg, Rodríguez accused Washington of targeting energy-rich nations—including Venezuela, Russia, and Iran—to maintain what she described as "hegemonic control."

"Especially the United States wants to seize the hydrocarbons of the planet — oil, gas, those of Venezuela, of Russia, of Iran — to sustain its hegemonic dominance in the world," Rodríguez said in remarks broadcast on state television and reported by EFE. She added that emerging economies, particularly those aligned with the BRICS bloc, represent "a new world being built" that challenges U.S. influence.

Rodríguez highlighted Venezuela's extensive gas reserves, calling them the largest in Latin America and among the top ten at the global level. She said the government is advancing projects with "important transnational partners" to export gas and pointed to offshore investments by Russia.

The recently approved Venezuela–Russia Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Treaty, she said, would "consolidate and project our strategic energy relations into the future."

Her comments come amid heightened tensions between Caracas and Washington, following a series of U.S. military operations in the Caribbean that the Trump administration says are aimed at combating drug trafficking. Venezuela has argued that the actions are a pretext for regime change.

In a previous interview with The New York Times, Rodríguez accused President Donald Trump of pushing the world toward "a stage where the United States has openly declared war on the world," describing recent attacks on vessels near Venezuelan waters as "absolutely illegal."

Earlier in September, Rodríguez also dismissed U.S. claims that Venezuela is central to drug smuggling routes, citing data from the U.N. and the DEA that most cocaine and fentanyl bound for the U.S. travels through the Pacific, not the Caribbean. "Venezuela is neither a producer of cocaine nor a significant route for its export," she said, calling the U.S. military buildup "a threat to a peaceful nation."