Trump to Visit Venezuela

Latin America Correspondent Jon Bonfiglio speaks to Henry Bonsu for Times Radio. 

Transcript

Henry Bonsu 0:00

Hi. Okay, first of all, Donald Trump saying, hey, you know, I've got really good relations with Delcy Rodriguez. I quite like the job she's doing. I'm gonna go to visit Venezuela. I mean, I I wasn't expecting that, were you?

Jon Bonfiglio 0:20

Um I mean, no, no, not not directly, but this isn't the first time that there's been surprises coming out of this you administration. And in a way it makes sense. But undoubtedly look the bright light of MAGA exceptionalism continues to shine on undimmed on Venezuela, uh, of course, soon to be appearing in the form of the man himself. Um, he's not said when this will be, but I think what we definitely know and where this makes sense is that it's going to be a made-for-television opportunity, primarily designed for a domestic audience. And it's no accident that uh in the last few days the uh the American hyper-right-wing news agency, Newsmax, uh, has been given uh the preferential access, the first foreign or international news media agency to be broadcasting in Venezuela. So I'm guessing the perspective is that it's going to, of course, play to a domestic audience, but it's also going to sort of gather up steam for Venezuelans in this reimagining of the country in the in the shape, in the form of um of Donald Trump and his um uh and his supporters.

Henry Bonsu 1:15

Yeah, I I see that this week the energy secretary, a guy called Chris Wright, um, has been in Venezuela. He visited um uh the country and met the government, which of course is led by Maduro's former deputy, Delcy Rodriguez. And and Trump is constantly praising her uh and saying, hey, they've done a great job. The oil's coming out and a lot of money is being paid. I mean, is that the measure?

Jon Bonfiglio 1:38

I mean, it's um uh that's the second time I sort of laughed at your your your your question, Henry. And that's kind of a sense of where it is that we are with this. She is still trying to please the master whilst maintaining the pretense of a functioning socialist republic. It's a high wire act. And um, just in the last couple of days, and this is gives you a sense of the sort of the disparity between the things she says to different audiences, in the last couple of days she's insisted that Nicolas Maduro is still the rightful president, whilst announcing at the same time that she'd been invited to visit the USA and pretending that political prisoners are free while re-arresting any that flout the terms of their um of their freedom. Again, meanwhile, her brother, head of Venezuela's Congress, Jorge Rodriguez, uh, has given a set uh a long interview to the same Newsmax uh organization. I mean, as regards what Donald Trump is primarily interested in, which of course is oil, but it is also the opening up of Venezuelan markets to uh to US companies, I mean, she's doing everything that she um she that they they want, they require, they demand of her. Uh the question, of course, is is this sort of parallel rhetoric at some point going to uh to annoy Donald Trump? Much in the same way as actually Nicholas Maduro's rhetoric uh definitely sort of jolted uh Donald Trump and also in this in the same way as Gustavo Petro in Colombia does. So it's not as though these um it's not as though how people speak is trivial. It is taken note of by the USA. Um at the moment, it's not um it's not angered Donald Trump, but who knows how for how long that it will um that will continue.

Henry Bonsu 3:10

That's right. And so just to build on that, I mean, today the uh US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, there they've relaxed these energy sanctions on Venezuela and they've been issuing general licenses. Who who is in the front of the queue? Because of course there are lots of um companies that might be interested, but there are one or two that have said it's uninvestable at the moment, uh, if you remember that meeting between Trump and those oil magnates.

Jon Bonfiglio 3:35

Yeah, I mean these these positions are fairly hypocritical at the best of times, because it is important to remember that Chevron has had an ongoing license um uh given by the Trump administration in August uh of last year at the very same to continue um uh commercializing Venezuela and all at the very same time as there were these uh sort of um uh mass sanctions on on the country as well. It's not clear which particular uh oil companies are going to sort of um step up, but increasingly it looks as though uh they're going to have little, or at least some of them are going to have little little choice in in the matter. Um certainly the the sort of the narratives that we are hearing that are being sort of foisted upon us in in the media is that this is this is a done deal. This is going to happen and it's going to be there is going to be mass reinvestment in Venezuela in the Venezuelan oil infrastructure, and that uh the United States will make a huge amount of money from it.

Henry Bonsu 4:25

Yep, and you mentioned a moment ago, Jon, claims uh by the government of Venezuela that they've been releasing political prisoners, but also re-arresting uh people who displease him. And yesterday was Venezuela's National Youth Day, and there were uh quite a few people out marching on the streets of Caracas, the capital.

Jon Bonfiglio 4:41

Yes, this definitely is a slightly new landscape because I mean, partly because people are emboldened, they recognize that they're at the eyes of the world, um, and that that there are potential repercussions to these sort of arrests or punitive uh measures being sort of taken out. But also it's important.

Henry Bonsu 4:59

Ah, Jon, you keep breaking uh we may have to terminate this. What a shame. We've had a good uh six, seven minutes of you. Uh John Bonfiglio, Latin America correspondent. We would just discussing what's happening in uh have you come back? Let's uh let's finish one more minute then, because uh Jon, um yesterday was Venezuela's national National Youth Day, and the National Assembly is considering a bill that would that might grant amnesty to political prisoners.

Jon Bonfiglio 5:23

Yes, but the amnesty comes with T's and C's, terms and conditions, and nobody quite knows what they are.

Henry Bonsu 5:30

Okay. Jon, thank you very much indeed for joining us on Times Radio. That's Latin America Correspondent Jon Bonfiglio.