Yesterday, the Iranian oil tanker Fortune arrived at Venezuela’s El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, defying U.S. Sanctions. Fortune is the first of five ships travelling from Iran to Venezuela altogether carrying an estimated 1.5 million barrels of oil.
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza congratulated the show of solidarity saying, “Today we see the fruits of a multipolar world, the fruits of Bolivarian diplomacy for peace and South-South cooperation.”
Both Venezuela and Iran have recently been subjected to brutal imperialist aggression by the U.S. empire. U.S Sanctions imposed against Venezuela caused catastrophic disruption of access to food, medicine, and medical equipment. Between 2017 and 2018 an estimated 40,000 people died as a direct result of US Sanctions against the country.
Likewise, U.S. sanctions against Iran has blocked the nations access to medical supplies, hampering it’s response to COVID-19. In January the US conducted a drone strike against Iran, assassinating Iranian leader, Major General Qasem Soleimani and killing several civilians.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro thanked Iran calling both nations, “revolutionary people’s who will never kneel down before North American imperialism.” Together Venezuela and Iran represent a threat to U.S. hegemony and the colonialist exploitation it unleashes on the global south.
