Trump Says Venezuela Took U.S. “Oil Rights”
Addressing reporters on Wednesday, Trump stated Venezuela seized "oil rights" and other holdings he asserted rightfully belonged to the U.S., driving his choice to enforce a naval blockade against the Latin American nation.
"They took our oil rights. We had a lot of oil there," Trump said. "They threw our companies out, and we want it back."
Trump blamed former administrations for allowing Venezuela to commandeer assets previously controlled by American corporations. "They took it away because we had a president that maybe wasn't watching," he said. "But they're not going to do that. We want it back."
Venezuela nationalized its petroleum sector in 1976, establishing state-controlled enterprise PDVSA and terminating direct foreign ownership of oil reserves, though international firms continued operating through service agreements.
During President Hugo Chavez's tenure in 2007, the government assumed majority control of major oil operations. Multiple Western energy corporations, including ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, withdrew from the country after rejecting the revised conditions and subsequently filed arbitration claims.
The confrontation unfolds as U.S. military activity in the Caribbean intensifies. Since September, American forces have executed strikes against suspected drug smugglers at sea, killing over 90 individuals in operations targeting what Washington characterizes as cartel-affiliated vessels. Trump has also threatened to expand strikes into Venezuelan territory, accusing Caracas of sheltering "narcoterrorists"—charges the Venezuelan government has rejected.
On Tuesday, Trump announced "a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela… until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us."
Caracas has denounced the blockade as unlawful and contrary to international law, free trade, and freedom of navigation. The Venezuelan government rejected Trump's assertions, maintaining that its oil and mineral resources constitute sovereign property. "Venezuela will never again be a colony of an empire or any foreign power," Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said.
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