Lavrov Howled Over Russian Companies Being Forced Out Of Venezuela
- 5.02.2026, 14:38
Russians are being squeezed out after Maduro's overthrow.
Russian companies began to be forced out of Venezuela after the overthrow of the country's former president Nicolas Maduro, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared.
"Right now, following the events in Venezuela, our companies are frankly trying to be removed from the country," the minister said in an interview with RT. He did not specify which companies he was referring to, but made it clear that this is happening at Washington's behest. According to him, despite negotiations on the end of the war in Ukraine, the US has imposed sanctions against Lukoil and Rosneft, as well as threatening those countries that buy Russian energy carriers with duties.
Before that, the state-owned company Roszarubezhneft, which manages Russian assets in Venezuela, said after the change of power in the republic that it would continue to fulfill its commitments and intends to develop enterprises together with the Venezuelan side. The company emphasized that all its assets in Venezuela are the property of Russia and were acquired on market conditions "in full compliance with the legislation of the Bolivarian Republic". "Roszarubezhneft participates in joint projects with Venezuelan state oil and gas company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).
In the spring of 2025, Russia and Venezuela signed a strategic partnership agreement. Five joint ventures with Russia operated in the republic, said the country's ambassador to Russia Jesus Rafael Salazar. The states were actively cooperating in oil production and marketing, he said. According to the analytical company Kpler, Russia overtook the United States by the end of 2025 and became the main supplier of naphtha for Venezuela's petrochemical industry.
On the night of January 3, the U.S. military captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and took them to the United States, where they were charged with "narco-terrorism." US President Donald Trump said Washington would govern Venezuela until there was a transition of power in the country. Afterward, State Department chief Marco Rubio noted that Venezuela's interim leader Delcy Rodriguez had promised to open the country's energy sector to U.S. companies, grant preferential access to production and use oil money to buy U.S. goods.