Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodriguez has met International Maritime Organization secretary general Arsenio Dominguez to outline her country’s objections to US sanctions.
“This blockade is aimed at strangling Venezuela,” the politician said, according to the Telesur website.
Rodriguez said 39 tankers owned by state oil producer Petroleos de Venezuela SA were affected by the sanctions, as well as 30 other Venezuelan vessels.
Venezuela has the fourth-highest number of sanctioned ships in the world, she added.
Rodriguez’s official X feed said the meeting in London addressed “various topics related to global maritime transport and the impact on international commerce and the general global economy”.
Aspects of the economic blockade against shipping and the global climate crisis were also raised.
Telesur cited her as saying: “Between 2015 and 2022, the country lost almost 4bn barrels of oil production, which is equivalent to a decrease in income of about $323bn. When calculating the total losses to economic activity in Venezuela, however, the impact reaches $642bn.
“The lifting of the blockade against Venezuela is a right of our people.”
In terms of climate change, she noted that the lack of rain and the weather phenomenon El Nino had affected 30% of the traffic through the Panama Canal.
Telesur also reported that the two discussed the disputed oil-rich region of Essequibo in Guyana.
Rodriguez raised the “negative environmental impact” of crude extraction activities offshore, according to the report.
The region hit the headlines in December when Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro claimed that a referendum gave his government a big mandate to seize the territory.
