US policy in Venezuela driven by oil, not drug fight: Colombian president

ANKARA

Colombian President Gustavo Petro alleged that Washington’s pressure campaign on Venezuela is driven by oil interests rather than anti-narcotics efforts.

Petro argued Tuesday in an interview with CNN that Venezuela’s vast oil reserves are central to US policy.

“(Oil) is at the heart of the matter,” he said, adding that US President Donald Trump is “not thinking about the democratization of Venezuela, let alone the narco-trafficking.”

The accusations came amid ramped-up US military activity in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The Colombian leader has been at odds with Trump since the US president returned to the White House in January.

Petro compared US actions to imperialism, accusing the US of trying to impose its will on neighbors, according to CNN.

The Colombian president has recently faced numerous actions from the US, including the revocation of his visa in September and sanctions by the Treasury Department in October, which accused him of playing a “role in the global illicit drug trade.” Petro, who was a member of the M-19 guerrilla movement that was active in the 1970s and 1980s, has rejected the claims.

He said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s “problem is a lack of democracy,” but indicated that no Colombian investigation has found evidence linking Maduro to drug trafficking.

Petro told CNN that his administration has seized more cocaine than any other in history, arguing that crop expansion has been far outpaced by the rise in seizures.

Petro also rejected allegations that Colombian officials have ties to dissidents from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) -- the guerrilla group that fought against the state for more than 50 years.

The US on Monday formally designated Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).

Tensions between the US and Venezuela have been on the rise since Trump ordered a military deployment in August in the Caribbean to attack drug cartels and stop drug trafficking routes, which are linked to Maduro.

Caracas maintains that what is being sought is regime change.

Since early September, the US military has carried out 21 strikes on vessels it claimed were loaded with drugs, killing 83 people. Trump has signaled that he could attack alleged drug trafficking targets on the ground in Venezuela.