Israeli TV Channel 13: Drug pretext for US interest in Venezuelan oil.
The Israeli TV channel 13 admitted in a report that the US attack on Venezuela and the arrest of the country’s president are an excuse to confront the drug threat; rather, the main goal is Venezuelan oil and confronting the threats of Russia and China.
The media emphasized that by making unrealistic claims about drug trafficking, the United States is seeking to consolidate its hegemony in a region that it considers its “backyard.”
According to the report, while US President Donald Trump has claimed that drug trafficking from Venezuela takes the lives of 300,000 Americans annually and that he is determined to eradicate this phenomenon, Israeli experts have considered it a gross exaggeration and have stated that the real figure is much lower.
According to the Hebrew-language media outlet, Caracas has the world’s largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia, and this was Washington’s main motivation for the military attack and kidnapping of Venezuelan President-elect Nicolas Maduro.
Trump justified this illegal action by saying, “We turned off the lights in Caracas and arrested Maduro and his wife in the dark of night.” He also stated that US oil companies would soon enter Venezuela and that the country would be under Washington’s administration until the “transfer of power.”
This US action was met with a wave of domestic and international reactions. Former US Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized in a message on the social network X (formerly Twitter) that attacking Venezuela has no legal basis or domestic interest for Washington and could plunge Americans into a long and costly crisis. He added: “The American people are tired of lies and such interventions will not increase the country’s security.”
He also pointed out that Trump’s main goal in attacking Venezuela is to control the country’s oil resources and the US president’s desire to play the role of a regional dictator, and noted: This action by the (US) government puts the lives of American soldiers at risk and costs billions of dollars.
In France, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the leftist party “France Insoumise,” called Washington’s action “the heinous kidnapping of President Maduro” and “the plunder of Venezuelan oil,” and called for the French government to condemn the attack. The country’s Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrow, also emphasized that no sustainable political solution can be imposed from abroad, recalling that only independent nations have the right to determine their own destiny.
In contrast, Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, issued flattering messages welcoming the US move, calling it Trump’s “historic leadership.”
According to IRNA, the United States attacked Venezuela on Saturday morning (January 13, 1404) in an action that has been met with a wave of international reactions. The media reported that explosions were heard and columns of smoke were seen in Caracas and several other states, and the US President also issued a message confirming the US role.