Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez said the country would pursue an expanded role as a global oil and gas producer while rejecting foreign interference in its political decisions, according to remarks broadcast on state television.
Speaking to oil workers, Rodríguez said Venezuela had signed its first gas export contract and was seeking to increase production while maintaining state control over underground resources under the Organic Hydrocarbons Law enacted during the presidency of Hugo Chávez.
Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez:
— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 26, 2026
Enough with Washington's orders over politicians in Venezuela!
Let it be Venezuelan politics that resolves our differences and our internal conflicts. pic.twitter.com/EQDmOkib2U
“It is now our task to become the country with the largest oil reserves in the world, with the largest gas reserves in this hemisphere,” Rodríguez said. “It is Venezuela’s right, diversity in its international relations.”
She said the government had asked lawmakers to preserve the law’s principles of energy sovereignty and national ownership of hydrocarbons, describing them as “untouchable and intact.”
English translation by Mint:
Rodríguez confirmed that Venezuela had signed a contract to export gas for the first time. “We have already signed a contract to export the first gas molecule of Venezuela,” she said. “And now we are going for more.”
Her comments included criticism of what she described as outside influence in Venezuelan politics. “Enough of orders from Washington over politics in Venezuela,” Rodríguez said. “Let Venezuelan politics resolve our divergences and our internal conflicts.”
She also accused unnamed Venezuelans of supporting actions against the country abroad and said they should be excluded from national political life. “Those who dared to go to the United States to give thanks for the bombing against our people do not deserve the dignity of this country nor its nationality,” she said.
Rodríguez said Venezuela’s oil and gas resources should be used to promote economic development and social welfare. “Venezuela can also be a power so that those oil and gas reserves are transformed into happiness, development, prosperity, and hope for the Venezuelan people,” she said.
Her remarks came amid a renewed focus by the government on energy exports and long-term economic strategy, as well as heightened geopolitical tensions involving Venezuela’s foreign relations.
