Making the Case Against Trump’s Shady Oil Deal with Venezuela

 

Over the weekend, the Trump Administration announced an unprecedented agreement that would give the U.S. government a direct financial stake in Venezuela’s oil industry. The arrangement immediately drew skepticism over its legality, the Pentagon’s role as a financial investor, its partnership with a controversial businessman under criminal investigation, and the decision to go into business with the same authoritarian regime Trump previously denounced as corrupt, illegitimate, and tied to international drug trafficking.

This deal risks entrenching Venezuela’s authoritarian government and delaying a democratic transition – all while offering little prospect of lowering energy prices for Americans anytime soon. The case against this shady deal is clear.

Talking Points:

  • Trump’s focus on Venezuela was never about drugs or Maduro – it was always about oil. Trump claimed his operation to replace Maduro was about combatting drug cartels and liberating the Venezuelan people from an oppressive regime. In reality, it was just another example of his corrupt crony capitalism – using the Oval Office and U.S. military to pad the pockets of his family and their billionaire cronies.

  • Trump’s deal won’t lower gas prices anytime soon. Venezuela currently produces only about 1.1 million barrels of oil per day, and substantially increasing production will require enormous investment that will likely take years. Americans are being promised cheaper gas, but the most immediate beneficiaries are far more likely to be the oil companies and investors positioned to profit from the deal.

  • Instead of supporting genuine democracy, the Trump Administration is cutting corrupt deals to enrich cronies and prop up Maduro’s chosen successor. The United States is now going into business with the very regime it accused of corruption, drug trafficking, and violently repressing the Venezuelan people. Rather than pushing for a democratic transition, this deal could provide Delcy Rodríguez and the remnants of the regime with new resources and legitimacy while further entrenching her authoritarian government.

  • Companies rushing to participate in this arrangement should understand the risks they’re taking. The Trump Administration will end in 2029, but the legal, financial, and ethical questions surrounding this deal will remain. Anyone involved in this shady arrangement should expect its terms – and the circumstances surrounding them – to face serious scrutiny and accountability. 

Published: September 2026