After US special forces moved into Caracas to seize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and topple his government, US President Donald Trump said the United States would now “run” Venezuela, including its vast oil resources. Trump said US companies were poised to invest billions of dollars to upgrade Venezuela’s deteriorating oil infrastructure and “start making money for the country”. Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at 303 billion barrels, around 20 per cent of global reserves. While the military action was unprecedented, it was not unexpected given Venezuela’s oil wealth and its strained history with Washington under former president Hugo Chavez and Maduro. Isolated from much of the world, Maduro’s government became dependent on selling oil to China as its sole economic outlet.

Source: The Telegraph January 06, 2026 07:48 UTC