Caracas.- Qatar and Panama signaled their willingness to mediate between the United States and Venezuela at a moment of heightened tensions triggered by a United States military deployment in the Caribbean near Venezuelan waters, an operation Caracas views as an attempt to force regime change, while United States President Donald Trump insists it is aimed at combating drug trafficking.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, said Sunday that Doha is “waiting” for either side or other governments to formally request its involvement as mediator.
“We are waiting for someone to ask us,” Al-Ansari said during a briefing with journalists on the sidelines of the Doha Forum. He added that Qatari authorities are “in communication with all parties,” although Doha is “not doing anything officially yet.”
He recalled that Qatar has facilitated conversations between Venezuela and the United States in recent years to negotiate prisoner exchanges, and stressed that Doha remains “committed to that process if needed.”
Panama signals openness to host Venezuelan officials
Also at the Doha Forum, Panamanian Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Hoyos told EFE that Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has expressed willingness to “temporarily” host “certain people” from the Venezuelan Government to help “resolve the situation” in the country.
Amid concerns about a potential US action in Venezuela and Washington’s reinforced military presence in the Caribbean, Hoyos said he is “very worried that something could happen,” warning that any escalation could “destabilize and affect everyone” in the region.
Venezuela urges defense of natural resources
Meanwhile, Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez called on workers in the oil sector to remain “on high alert,” arguing that “the enemy does not rest.”
“We are not going to betray Venezuela’s sovereignty. This is the time for brave men and women. We are going to resolve this dispute peacefully,” Rodríguez said in a video posted Sunday on her Telegram account from the Petrocedeño facility in Anzoátegui state, where heavy crude is processed.
Rodríguez, who also serves as Minister of Hydrocarbons, urged employees of the state petrochemical company Pequiven to commit to the country’s development at a time when, she said, Venezuela is “harassed and threatened” because of its energy and natural resources.
“This is the time to defend and not postpone this dispute over Venezuela’s energy resources. If there is one thing we must leave to our sons and daughters, it is the heritage of a free, independent, and sovereign country, never an energy colony of any foreign power,” she said.
Security and aviation strains
Since August, the US has maintained a military deployment in the Caribbean, officially framed as part of its anti-narcotics efforts.
Venezuela, however, sees the operation as an attempt to engineer regime change and install “puppet governments” that would grant Washington favorable access to its energy resources.
The country is also facing an air connectivity crisis after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Nov. 21 advisory urging aircraft to “exercise extreme caution” when flying over Venezuela and the southern Caribbean due to what it described as “potentially hazardous” conditions.
The warning has forced passengers in Venezuela to make lengthy overland journeys and take multiple domestic flights, sometimes up to five legs, to reach border regions before crossing into Colombia to access international connections.
