Environmental experts are warning that the U.S. push to revamp and boost Venezuela’s vast oil reserves could worsen decades of ecological damage and increase planet-warming pollution in a country already struggling with the legacy of a long-declining petroleum industry.
The warnings come as Washington has intensified pressure on Venezuela following the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro last weekend. Since then, the United States has moved to assert control over Venezuelan oil exports, the country's main source of revenue, seizing tankers it says were transporting crude in violation of U.S. sanctions and signaling plans to redirect Venezuelan oil to global markets under U.S. oversight.
