President Donald Trump has announced plans to allow American oil companies to operate in Venezuela following a US military operation that led to the arrest of the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking at a news conference in Florida on Saturday, Trump said major US oil firms would be permitted to move into Venezuela to develop its vast crude oil reserves and repair the country’s dilapidated energy infrastructure.
“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies — the biggest anywhere in the world — go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” Trump said.
The announcement came hours after US forces carried out air strikes on Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. According to Trump, Maduro and his wife were captured during the operation and flown to New York, where they are expected to face charges related to drug trafficking and weapons offences.
Despite opening the door to US oil companies, Trump stressed that the long-standing embargo on Venezuelan oil remains in place. Washington first imposed economic sanctions on Venezuela in 2017, followed by oil sanctions in 2019, as part of efforts to isolate Maduro’s government.
Venezuela currently produces just under one million barrels of oil per day, according to figures from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), with much of its crude reportedly sold on the black market at discounted prices. Trump has repeatedly accused Caracas of using oil revenue to fund criminal activities, including drug trafficking and human trafficking.
At the start of his second term in 2025, Trump revoked special licences that had allowed several multinational energy firms to continue operating in Venezuela despite the sanctions. US energy giant Chevron remained the only company granted an exemption and currently operates four oil fields in partnership with Venezuela’s state-owned oil firm, PDVSA.
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The United States has also enforced a strict blockade on tankers linked to Venezuelan oil exports.
Venezuela holds about 17 per cent of the world’s proven oil reserves, according to the International Energy Agency, but years of mismanagement and corruption have severely reduced its production capacity. Its crude is also heavy and of lower quality, making it more suitable for diesel and industrial byproducts rather than gasoline.
Analysts note that the US is not dependent on Venezuelan oil. “The United States is doing just fine without Venezuelan oil,” energy analyst Stephen Schork has said, arguing that Washington’s stance is driven more by politics than energy needs.
