Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced on Wednesday that the Amuay Refinery had been attacked by terrorists and that two foreigners were detained prior to the explosion. He said that the attack was conducted using a “large and powerful weapon”.
While he did not divulge the nationalities of the two foreigners arrested, Venezuelan authorities did arrest American citizen Matthew John Heath earlier this month on charges of espionage, terrorism, weapons trafficking, and conspiracy. Alongside Heath, three Venezuelan ‘co-conspirators’ were charged as well.
In a televised address to the nation following the attack on the refinery, Maduro declared, “This is a plot against our lives, against our livelihood and against our public services.” He repeated his tried and tested line of blaming the US and political opponents in Venezuela for orchestrating the explosion.
Maduro went on to say, “Venezuela faces a situation of permanent conspiracy against our oil industry, refineries, and electric system.”
Attorney General Tarek William Saab claimed that authorities had seized a grenade launcher, a submachine gun, plastic explosive material, and stacks of US dollar bills from a vehicle near the site.
An unnamed individual from the refinery, however, said that the explosion may actually have been “caused by a water leak that could have caused a vapor blast”. In fact, this is not the first such explosion at the Amuay Refinery. in 2012, 39 people were killed due to a gas leak.
Venezuela is currently in the midst of an oil crisis, and its refineries are struggling to produce enough fuel for domestic consumption. In fact, despite being an oil-rich country, crippling sanctions on state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) have forced it to import petroleum from Iran. It is estimated that the attack on the Amuay Refinery could result in a production shortfall of up to 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
This is not the first attack in Venezuela this year. In May, state security forces arrested 13 and killed eight “terrorist mercenaries”, including two former US Army Special Forces soldiers, for attempting to kill President Maduro. In the aftermath of the event, opposition leader Juan Guaidó accepted the resignation of Juan Rendon, a United States-based adviser, and Sergio Vergara, an exiled legislator and a staffer on Guaidó’s “crisis strategy commission”, for their role in the failed attempt to overthrow Maduro.
Oil Explosion at Venezuelan Refinery, President Maduro Alleges “Terrorist Attack”
Nicolás Maduro repeated his tried and tested line of blaming the US and political opponents in Venezuela for orchestrating the explosion.
October 30, 2020
IMAGE SOURCE: VENEZUELAN PRESIDENTIAL PALACEVenezuelan President Nicolás Maduro