On 4 March, US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum visited Venezuela. The reason for the visit? Burgum, in addition to being Secretary of the Interior, heads the brand-new National Energy Dominance Council, a council created by Trump with the aim of ensuring “that the United States is the dominant country in energy matters.”

No more, no less. And the purpose of the visit was precisely to ensure US dominance of Venezuela’s mineral resources, particularly gold and critical minerals, which are a key battleground in the global confrontation between the US and China. A social media post by the US Embassy in Venezuela stated it clearly:

The Secretary will meet with interim authorities, establish contacts with US and Venezuelan companies, and work towards a legitimate mining sector and secure critical mineral supply chains.

The Secretary was welcomed with a red carpet at the Miraflores Palace and cordial smiles from Acting President Delcy Rodríguez.

That same day, President Trump posted a complimentary message on social media:

Delcy Rodríguez, who is the President of Venezuela, is doing a great job, and working with U.S. Representatives very well. The Oil is beginning to flow, and the professionalism and dedication between both Countries is a very nice thing to see!

Delcy, very proud, hastened to thank him for the message, both on social media and publicly:

I thank President Donald Trump for his government’s kind willingness to work together on an agenda that strengthens binational cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of the United States and Venezuela.

Take a closer look: “his government’s KIND willingness to WORK TOGETHER”… nobody would guess that the US militarily attacked Venezuela on 3 January and is holding its kidnapped president in a prison in Brooklyn.

These days, prominent international activists in solidarity with Venezuela, and Chavistas who support the government in Venezuela, find themselves in an increasingly uncomfortable situation. It is difficult to justify or even understand the actions of the Caracas government.

Just a few days ago, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil issued a shameful statement on the war against Iran that made no mention of the United States or Israel, the aggressors, but did refer to “the undue and condemnable military reprisals carried out by Iran against targets located in various countries of the region”!! Seeing is believing. What a contrast to the statement issued by Venezuela during the 12-Day War in June 2025.

The statement caused a huge stir on social media and was rightly rejected by many who still support Delcy’s government and try to justify its actions.

Within a few hours, Yvan Gil deleted the statement, which also disappeared from all official accounts and state media, although it still remains on some clueless Venezuelan embassies’ accounts.

What we do not know is whether the statement was deleted because of the criticism it had received, or because the US did not like the lukewarm criticism of its actions, even without mentioning them by name.

Later, Delcy Rodríguez published a note of solidarity… with Qatar! In short, after the deletion of the foreign minister’s statement, Venezuela has not spoken out against the US-Israeli attack on Iran, including the assassination of the country’s highest authority, Ayatollah Khamenei.

On 3 March, Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA published another shameful statement announcing new oil contracts with the US “to guarantee supply” in the context of the war against Iran. The statement reaffirmed that “Venezuela reiterates its commitment to the stability of the international energy market and asserts itself as a reliable supplier, contributing to the balance necessary to guarantee global energy security”. In other words, Venezuela is helping the US to overcome the repercussions of the imperialist attack on Iran.

But let’s get back to our friend Burgum. The Secretary of the Interior is a tough businessman from North Dakota with little previous political experience, and he is known for speaking his mind, leaving diplomatic niceties aside.

At a joint press conference with Delcy Rodríguez, he stated bluntly that “we are here because of President Trump’s courage.” This really means, “we are here because Trump attacked Venezuela and kidnapped President Maduro.” Delcy smiled and adjusted her microphone. But we really shouldn’t get caught up in the formal aspect (in the narrative, as the postmodernists would say), but rather get to the heart of the matter.

Secretary Burgum was accompanied by representatives from more than a dozen large US mining multinationals, who came to take the spoils of the military intervention on 3 January.

Thus, on 6 March, the US sanctions office (OFAC) issued a license lifting the sanctions imposed on Venezuelan gold. Yes, it lifts them, but with draconian conditions amounting to semi-colonial subjugation.

Let’s see. General license number 51 lifts sanctions on the Venezuelan state-owned company Minerven and its subsidiaries, provided that the following requirements are met:

• Sales and export contracts must be established under US jurisdiction.
• The money obtained from sales must be deposited in bank accounts controlled by the US Treasury (as is the case with oil sales), which will obviously control its disbursement.
• Cuba, Iran, Russia, China and North Korea are excluded from the license (including companies that are associated with companies from these countries).
• Only exports for gold refining in the US are permitted.
• Any contract for the export, resale, supply, etc. of gold under this license, must be submitted by the Venezuelan government in a detailed report to the US government.

In short, Venezuela can sell its gold legally, but under the control of the US, which decides to whom it can be sold, under what conditions, and how the money obtained from the sale will be used.

Although what Venezuela says really matters little in this context, Delcy Rodríguez was quick to announce an expedited reform of the mining law “to encourage foreign investment.”

These are the same terms under which the US allows the sale of Venezuelan oil.

Some try to justify this situation with all kinds of convoluted arguments. They say it is a masterstroke in which Delcy has the real power, because she has something that imperialism needs. Others argue that she has a gun to her head. It is a victory, because a war like the one in Iran has been avoided, they explain.

If one raises one’s voice to protest, they respond: “You have no right to comment all the way from Europe. If you want to fight, grab a rifle and come to Venezuela.” Those who use this “argument” may not realize that they are proving our point. Imperialism is not being fought in Venezuela.

It is obvious, and anyone can see, that imperialism has the upper hand. Trump managed to subdue Venezuela through military blockade and direct aggression on 3 January. Now, through Delcy’s government, he controls the flow of oil and minerals (gold for now, others will undoubtedly follow).

It is important to recognize this fact. The truth is revolutionary. If we try to deny reality, we are only deceiving ourselves. Imperialism is crystal clear. In fact, Trump believes he can export the model to other latitudes and has announced that he is looking for “an Iranian Delcy.”

In this situation, it matters little whether Delcy Rodríguez follows these policies out of conviction and whether she offered to play that role before 3 January – or whether she is doing so with a gun to her head and as a result of a direct threat on 3 January itself. The reality is stubborn: Delcy’s government is implementing the policy that suits Trump and US imperialism, hence Trump’s praise.

But I would say there is more. For example, in an interview with Venezuelan journalist Luís Olavarrieta, Jorge Rodríguez declared himself willing to return assets to companies that were nationalized under Chávez: “I believe the government is already working on that.” In that context, he specifically mentioned Agroisleña, the largest supplier of agricultural products, which was nationalized in 2010, a key achievement of the Bolivarian revolution. Now Rodríguez believes that nationalization was a mistake: “I believe that the case of Agroisleña was a mistake.”

Policies in favor of the bosses (a counter-reform of Chávez’s labor law is coming), anti-revolutionary policies, and policies that surrender to imperialism are not new, but have been around for some time. But now there has been a qualitative leap, with direct subjugation to the US.

And the icing on the cake came on 5 March, the anniversary of Hugo Chávez’s death, when diplomatic and consular relations between the US and Venezuela were re-established. The US statement clearly states that this step is part of “a phased process that creates the conditions for a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government”.

On the Venezuelan side, the government of Delcy Rodríguez “reaffirms its willingness to move forward in a new stage of constructive dialogue, based on mutual respect, the sovereign equality of states and cooperation between our peoples.” One cannot help but be astonished. The US invaded Venezuela and took the president as a prisoner of war, but it seems that this has opened a “stage of constructive dialogue, based on mutual respect and sovereign equality.” Shameful.

The statement also ends with a quote from Simón Bolívar, who, according to Caracas, “expressed his desire to establish ‘relations of friendship and good faith’ with the Government of the United States of America.” The small detail is that Bolívar never said such a thing, either in his famous speech at Angostura or anywhere else. The quote turned out to be from . . . Francisco de Paula Santander, who went on to betray Bolívar!

Burgum, the North Dakotan businessman, confirmed a first shipment of gold to the US on Friday, 6 March, worth $100 million. Speaking to Fox News, he laughed at the joke that he had won gold at the Olympics.

The imperialist plundering of Venezuela’s natural resources is advancing at a rapid pace, with the complacent participation of Delcy Rodríguez’s government. To ensure this, Maduro and Cilia remain prisoners of war.

And to leave no room for doubt, the head of the US Southern Command, the aggressor force on 3 January, issued a statement, illustrated with a photo of General Donovan and the US Ambassador to Venezuela at Maiquetia airport.

The statement reads: “U.S. Southern Command stands with Amb. Laura Dogu and U.S. government partners in supporting a free, safe, and prosperous Venezuela. A U.S.-aligned Venezuela.”