“WE’RE GOING TO KEEP THE OIL”: Trump Announces Seizure of 50 Million Barrels from Venezuela
In a stunning declaration that marks a new and aggressive chapter in U.S. foreign policy, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that interim authorities in Venezuela will immediately turn over between 30 and 50 million barrels of seized, high-quality oil to the United States. The move comes just days after U.S. forces captured ousted dictator Nicolás Maduro, who now faces drug charges in New York, and solidifies a long-held Trump doctrine. “We’re going to keep the oil,” the President asserted, drawing a direct contrast to past interventions. The oil, currently held on storage ships, will be sold at market price with Trump vowing to personally control the proceeds to “benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.”
The announcement sets the stage for a sweeping corporate overhaul of Venezuela’s crippled energy sector, with the White House summoning titans like Chevron and ExxonMobil to discuss investing billions to resurrect the nation’s vast reserves—the largest in the world. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been tasked with executing the unprecedented transfer “immediately,” even as the U.S. military maintains control of Caracas. While framed as a stabilizing measure for a nation in chaos, the maneuver ignites fierce debate over sovereignty and resource imperialism, proving Trump’s earlier promise that, unlike Iraq, this time America would not leave the prize behind.
