It came straight from the horse’s mouth when, just hours after American forces’ lightning attack on Venezuela, US President Donald Trump admitted that he was after the sovereign Latin American country’s oil reserves. It is the largest on record, supremely vast compared to what Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia own.
In true Trump fashion, the US leader validated global suspicion that the snatching of leftist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores (using more than 150 aircraft and a couple thousand forces) was not a law enforcement action but a power grab and regime change operation.
Trump was trying to triumphantly mesmerize his audience when he slipped: “We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies… spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure.”
“We’ll be selling large amounts of oil,” he said, as quoted by Agence France-Presse, referring to the black gold owned by Venezuela and its people.
China’s ambition halted
In months, Trump would rebrand 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserve that accounts for 17 percent of global reserves as American. ‘
‘Twas the count that energy-hungry China wants and had partially locked previously through a debt swap agreement with its ideological partners in the former Hugoland.
China, believed to be running out of oil depots needed in the event of a global war erupt, is stalled in its drive to occupy Taiwan and dominate the region’s vast seas.
Beijing had just ended massive military exercises – a show of force – in Taiwan waters but it was overshadowed by the US bombing of chosen Venezuela sites.
The East Asian power is the largest importer of oil, surpassing the US. It gets its supply for its ever-growing demand for energy from various regions, including the Middle East, Africa, Russia, and Central Asia, with its top suppliers coming from the Persian Gulf, Russia, and other countries in Asia and Africa.
Venezuela’s share, however, cannot be overlooked. It remains a notable oil supplier to China.
The Chinese are also Venezuela’s largest creditors and investors in its oil sector, securing long-term oil supplies through loans and infrastructure investments.
Is Maduro government legitimate?
With Trump’s statement, China’s investments in Venezuela now appears to be in the doldrums.
Trump also appears to not know what to do with the Venezuelan government yet. He claims to have held talks with Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, another leftist who had vowed support to Maduro who, as of this writing has just been transferred to a New York prison.
“Maduro remains Venezuela’s president,” Rodríguez said.
Trump, however, claimed to have “sworn in” Rodríguez as Maduro’s successor after her talks with one of his top officials. But that appears to be inconsistent with Trump’s denial of the Maduro government’s legitimacy after he questioned their election in 2024.
The US leader also holds the opposition in Venezuela in low regard. Trump said US-backed opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, lacks support from the Venezuelan people.
So, that was the reason for Maduro’s victory. Only Trump could not say it directly. Trump also did not discount sending boots on Venezuelan grounds. Such act would not differentiate him from Russia’s Valdimir Putin who sent mercenaries to Ukraine in 2022.
As for the drug charges against Maduro, it’s for Trump and his lawyers to prove.
