violently, on peaceful protesters. In response, President Obama imposed sanctions against

Venezuelan officials -- which increased the already historically tense relationship between

the two countries. Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro now vows to retaliate against

the US. So what’s behind this political strain? Why do Venezuela and the US hate each

other?

Well, there are a bunch of reasons.

In the 2000s, their relationship deteriorated significantly because of disputes over oil.

When Venezuela increased taxes on foreign oil companies operating there, American firms

like Exxon Mobil left. The oil companies’ discontent manifested itself within the American

government due to extensive lobbying. Both the US and Venezuela suffered lost jobs and

profits from the move, and blamed one another for it.

Venezuela has a habit of blaming the US for its economic woes. But the real problem is

that Venezuela is completely dependant on profits from its oil exports. And the US is

one of their largest oil buyers. So any downtick in sales tends to be bad for Venezuela. During

his presidency, Hugo Chávez was critical of the U.S. and capitalism. And current President

Maduro has accused the US of flooding the oil market in order to “cause an economic

collapse” in Venezuela.

But tensions between the two countries stems from more than just oil.

Chávez and Maduro have also blamed the US for multiple failed assassination and coup

attempts over the years. In 2002, Chávez told the BBC that he had photographic evidence

of US involvement in a coup, but the US denies this. Then, in 2008, Chávez expelled three

US diplomats from Venezuela for alleged sabotage. He even temporarily froze diplomatic ties

with the US. Even after Chávez’s death in 2013, President Maduro similarly maintains

that the US has been trying to overthrow his government.

But this aggression towards the US seems to lie more with Venezuela’s rulers than with

Venezuela’s people. A Pew Research Center survey found that more than 6 in 10 Venezuelans

actually “have a favorable view of the US”, while President Maduro's approval rating is

half that at 30%. From the corruption protests attended by thousands of demonstrators, it’s

clear that blame for the country’s woes is being redirected towards the government.

Perhaps this shift in focus could lead to better diplomatic ties between the US and

Venezuela.

If you’re interested in learning more about Venezuela’s dangerous dependence on oil,

check out our video here. If you’re not yet subscribed to TestTube, you’re definitely

missing out. Make sure you hit that subscribe link for all our latest videos, and thanks

as always for your support.