President Trump details US raid that captured Maduro in Venezuela
At a press conference, President Donald Trump detailed the U.S. military operation that detained President Nicolas Maduro and his wife overnight in Caracas.
On January 3, President Donald Trump said at a press conference after the U.S. military captured the country’s leader, President Nicolas Maduro, in a raid, that the United States, with the help of oil companies, would “make oil flow the way it should” to Venezuela.
The Trump administration’s capture of Maduro will open up Venezuela’s vast state-owned oil reserves to oil majors that had previously been blocked from access, Trump promised at a news conference after the nighttime military operation.
“We’re going to rebuild our oil infrastructure, and it’s going to cost billions of dollars,” Trump said. The cost will be “paid directly by the oil company” but “will be reimbursed,” he said.
“We’re going to let the oil flow where it’s supposed to go,” he added.
President Trump made the comment as he announced that the United States would “run” Venezuela until a new leader is elected. He did not discuss the specific details of how the country would be managed.
In the months leading up to the armed detention operation in Caracas, Trump ramped up pressure on Maduro, accusing Venezuela of stealing U.S. oil and ordering the U.S. military to block oil tankers from trading with the country. Oil companies will play a big role in the plan, Trump said, as Maduro is ousted from power and headed to trial in the United States.
He said the United States would have an “oil-related presence in Venezuela.”
President Trump said the United States would continue selling oil to other countries, including Russia and China, which have purchased Venezuela’s oil exports.
“We probably won’t be able to produce much oil because our infrastructure is so bad that we’ll probably end up selling a lot more oil,” he said.
Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves, but the quality of the oil it produces is low by U.S. standards.
These reserves have been almost completely off-limits to U.S. oil giants since the mid-1970s, when Venezuela was placed in the hands of a state-run company called Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA).
The exception is Chevron, which is authorized to operate through a joint venture with PDVSA.
The Trump administration revoked Chevron’s permit to operate in Venezuela in early 2025, then revoked it in July and granted the company a limited permit.
President Trump has not elaborated on the basis for his claim that Venezuela stole U.S. oil. In 2007, President Maduro’s socialist predecessor Hugo Chávez seized oil fields privately owned by foreign companies, including those belonging to American companies like Exxon and ConocoPhillips.
Politico reported in mid-December that the Trump administration had reached out to these companies about restarting operations in Venezuela.
Last month, the Trump administration moved to seize three oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. The first two vessels were captured while carrying exported Venezuelan crude oil. The third tanker, which had not yet loaded its cargo, escaped from U.S. forces and was hastily re-registered as a Russian vessel to avoid U.S. seizure.
President Trump announced that the U.S. military will block all oil tankers entering and exiting Venezuelan ports based on U.S. sanctions.
Venezuela has drawn the ire of the US government for exporting oil to US enemies such as China, Russia, Iran and Cuba. Oil accounts for about 90% of Venezuela’s exports and plays a major role in the Venezuelan economy, which has been subject to harsh U.S. sanctions for decades.
