China tells Trump to keep away from Venezuela’s oil – and requires Maduro’s ‘rapid launch’

China today urged Donald Trump to stay away from Venezuela’s oil after the US said it would run the country following an operation to capture president Nicolas Maduro.

The US leader revealed American oil firms will ‘go in and rebuild this system’ as he signalled a plan to take control of huge and largely untapped reserves in Venezuela.

But China, which has invested billions in Venezuela’s oil industry, claimed agreements it has with Caracas over oil exports from the country would be ‘protected by law’.

China, an ally of Venezuela, also called for Mr Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores to be ‘immediately released’ in a strong condemnation of the operation over the weekend.

China’s foreign ministry said the move was a ‘clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter’.

Officials in Beijing also called on Washington to ‘cease efforts to subvert the Venezuelan government and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation’.

Just last Friday, Mr Maduro was at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas meeting Qiu Xiaoqi, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Latin American Affairs. 

Other countries such as Russia and Iran, which also have longstanding ties with Mr Maduro’s government, were quick to condemn the operation too.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said: ‘The president of a country and his wife were abducted. It’s nothing to be proud of; it’s an illegal act. 

‘As the Venezuelan people have emphasised, their president must be released.’

Iran also said its relations with close ally Venezuela remained unchanged despite the US taking Mr Maduro to New York for trial.

‘Our relations with all countries, including Venezuela, are based on mutual respect and will remain so,’ Mr Baqaei said. ‘We are in contact with the Venezuelan authorities.’

Iran, which the US bombed last year, additionally said it ‘strongly condemns the US military attack on Venezuela and a flagrant violation of the country’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity’.

Meanwhile Russia demanded the US leadership ‘reconsider its position and release the legally elected president of the sovereign country and his wife’.

And North Korea’s foreign ministry denounced the American capture of Mr Maduro as a ‘serious encroachment of sovereignty’.

Mexico, which Mr Trump has also threatened with military force over drug trafficking, strongly condemned the US military action in Venezuela, saying it ‘seriously jeopardises regional stability’.

And Colombian President Gustavo Petro – whose country neighbours Venezuela – called the US action an ‘assault on the sovereignty’ of Latin America which would lead to a humanitarian crisis.

Mr Maduro is expected to appear in a New York court today, after being seized in Caracas in the shock US military operation that paved the path for Washington’s plans to dominate the oil-rich country.

Mr Maduro faces narcotrafficking charges along with his wife, who was forcibly taken out of Caracas in the US assault which involved commandos, bombing by jet planes, and a massive naval force.

When asked what he needs from Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, Mr Trump said: ‘We need total access. We need access to the oil and other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country.’ 

Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, and more Venezuelan crude in the market could exacerbate oversupply concerns and add to recent pressure on prices.

But analysts say that alongside other major questions about the South American country’s future, substantially lifting its oil production will not be easy, quick or cheap.

Mr Trump also announced yesterday that the US was ‘in charge’ of the South American nation.