The US and Venezuela: a century-old relationship drenched in oil

A visual look at how Washington’s relationship with Caracas has gone from cordial to ‘predatory’

• Trump ally defends Venezuela oil deal amid ‘gunpoint diplomacy’ criticism

Written in the middle of the last century, the US Department of State memo conveys its message in a curt and undiplomatically honest tone: the glue that binds Washington to Caracas is, and is always likely to be, oil.

“All US policies toward Venezuela are affected in greater or less degree by the objective of assuring an adequate supply of petroleum for the US,” the 1950 document reads.