In 2014, mass corruption protests in Venezuela caused the government to crackdown, often
violently, on peaceful protesters.
In response, President Obama imposed sanctions against Venezuelan officials -- which increased
the already historically tense relationship between the two countries.
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro now vows to retaliate against the US.
So what’s behind this political strain?
Why do Venezuela and the US hate each other?
Well, there are a bunch of reasons.
In the 2000s, their relationship deteriorated significantly because of disputes over oil.
When Venezuela increased taxes on foreign oil companies operating there, American firms
like Exxon Mobil left.
The oil companies’ discontent manifested itself within the American government due
to extensive lobbying.
Both the US and Venezuela suffered lost jobs and profits from the move, and blamed one
another for it.
Venezuela has a habit of blaming the US for its economic woes.
But the real problem is that Venezuela is completely dependant on profits from its oil
exports.
And the US is one of their largest oil buyers.
So any downtick in sales tends to be bad for Venezuela.
During his presidency, Hugo Chávez was critical of the U.S. and capitalism.
And current President Maduro has accused the US of flooding the oil market in order to
“cause an economic collapse” in Venezuela.
But tensions between the two countries stems from more than just oil.
Chávez and Maduro have also blamed the US for multiple failed assassination and coup
attempts over the years.
In 2002, Chávez told the BBC that he had photographic evidence of US involvement in
a coup, but the US denies this.
Then, in 2008, Chávez expelled three US diplomats from Venezuela for alleged sabotage.
He even temporarily froze diplomatic ties with the US.
Even after Chávez’s death in 2013, President Maduro similarly maintains that the US has
been trying to overthrow his government.
But this aggression towards the US seems to lie more with Venezuela’s rulers than with
Venezuela’s people.
A Pew Research Center survey found that more than 6 in 10 Venezuelans actually “have
a favorable view of the US”, while President Maduro's approval rating is half that at 30%.
From the corruption protests attended by thousands of demonstrators, it’s clear that blame
for the country’s woes is being redirected towards the government.
Perhaps this shift in focus could lead to better diplomatic ties between the US and
Venezuela.
If you’re interested in learning more about Venezuela’s dangerous dependence on oil,
check out our video here.
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