Glenn Greenwald: US Determined to Control Venezuela's Oil

Newly revealed U.S. espionage against Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA violated the South American nation's sovereignty, journalist Glenn Greenwald said Wednesday, adding that Washington is determined to take control of Venezuela’s resources.

Speaking to teleSUR, Greenwald slammed the espionage as an invasion of Venezuela's rights. However, he also pointed out Venezuelans aren't the only ones impacted by Washington's spying, arguing U.S. citizens themselves have lost much of their privacy online.

He continued by stating revelations of U.S. spying showed Washington is determined to take control of Venezuela's oil resources.

Greenwald currently works with The Intercept.

In a joint investigation, teleSUR and The Intercept revealed earlier Wednesday the U.S. National Security Agency had infiltrated PDVSA's internal communications network, and was spying on top company figures.

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A highly classified NSA document obtained by teleSUR and The Intercept showed how the operation was carried out together with the U.S Embassy in Caracas.

President Nicolas Maduro has rejected the U.S. spying on PDVSA, telling teleSUR’s Madelein Garcia that his government would write a protest message and “revise our relationship with the U.S. again.”

“U.S. imperialism, for a long time, has wanted to sabotage our petroleum industry and defeat the Bolivarian government in order to take over Venezuela’s petroleum,” Maduro said later on the public television station VTV.

He instructed the country’s foreign minister Delcy Rodriguez to meet with the U.S. government, emphasizing that no country “has the right to intervene in the affairs of other countries.” He said he wanted her to demand an apology from the U.S. for the magnitude of their illegal actions.