Venezuela Denounces Cyberattack Amid US ‘Strategy’ to Seize Its Oil

Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa), reported on Monday that it was the target of a “cyberattack aimed at halting its operations,” which, it warned, is part of the United States’ “strategy” to “seize” Venezuelan crude “by force and piracy.”  In a statement, PDVSA categorically rejected what it called a “despicable action” that was “orchestrated by foreign interests in collusion with stateless factors seeking to undermine the country’s right to its sovereign energy development.”  “This is not the first time that the United States government, allied with extremist sectors, has tried to undermine national stability and steal Christmas from the Venezuelan people,” they said.   

However, thanks to “the expertise of PDVSA’s human talent, the operational areas were not affected in any way, the attack being limited to its administrative system”.  “The operational continuity of the industry is maintained through the implementation of safe protocols that allow its regular activities in the supply of products to the national market, as well as for the fulfillment of all its export commitments,” they assured.  The state-owned company made this accusation five days after the government of Nicolás Maduro warned of the “blatant theft” by the U.S. of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast, amid the U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean Sea, seen by Caracas as a “threat” to bring about a regime change. 

On that day, December 10, US President Donald Trump announced that his country had intercepted and seized an oil tanker off the coast of the South American country, raising tensions between Washington and Caracas, which have had no relations since 2019.  Subsequently, the Chavista Executive said that this “new criminal act adds to the theft of Citgo”, a subsidiary of Pdvsa in US territory, and announced that it will go to international bodies to denounce “this serious international crime”.  According to The New York Times, the tanker, named Skipper and sailing under a false flag, was seized by order of a US judge for its previous links to the smuggling of Iranian oil, sanctioned by Washington, although on this occasion it was transporting Venezuelan crude.