Republican Congresswoman says quiet part out loud, claims toppling the Venezuelan oil-rich regime could be ‘a Windfall’

Hawkish figures in the GOP like United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Rep. Maria Salazar have always been pushing for regime change in Venezuela all the way back to the Barack Obama administration. The only thing that has evolved is the reason why. First, it was about socialism, then about drug trafficking, and in Rep. Salazar’s last appearance on Fox, she admitted Venezuela’s oil reserves are now their primary reason.

Drug trafficking is and has always been a big problem globally. The Donald Trump administration has been very aggressive on drug trafficking, which is commendable, but the first thing to learn about drug dealing is that it’s an “industry” that attracts everyone, from struggling farmers in Colombia to former Olympians in Canada. It’s far too complex to politicize.

Yet, when Rep. Salazar was on Fox Business, she shared with the host that their intention goes far beyond just ensuring the inflow of drugs into the United States stops. She shared that with the US Army’s efforts, the airspace in Venezuela has been closed — and this is in addition to earlier sanctions imposed on the country that have made life in the nation very unstable, making most Venezuelans just want an end to all this madness. So the going assumption is that even President Nicolás Maduro can tell these are his final days.

However, the comment by the Congresswoman that went on to concern some was when she finally reiterated the reason why it was important for the US Army to invade Venezuela. “American companies can go in and fix the oil rigs and everything that has to do with the Venezuelan petroleum companies, with oil and the derivatives.” Rep. Salazar continued, “The Venezuelans have the largest reserves of oil in the world, more than Saudi Arabia. This is going to be a windfall for us when it comes to fossil fuels.”

Rep. Salazar on Venezuela: "We're about to go in … we need to go in … Venezuela for the American oil companies will be a field day" pic.twitter.com/S8c3hsDxEv

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 24, 2025

This wasn’t well received by most quarters on X. Military excursions tend to be dangerous, and no matter who wins and loses — lives are at risk on both sides. Democratic candidate for Congress Fred Wellman was among the loudest voices to show concern when he posted on X, “They are sending our troops to war for the oil companies and not even pretending to lie about it.”

They are sending our troops to war for the oil companies and not even pretending to lie about it. These sick SOB’s are going to get our kids killed and it’s all a big joke. https://t.co/xG3i5cqiUI

— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) November 24, 2025

So far, the Trump administration has conducted over 20 airstrikes on Venezuelan vessels that they believe to have been trafficking drugs into the US. Additional reports have revealed that about 80 Venezuelans have been killed during these strikes — but the Trump administration has assured that these were indeed drug dealers. Of course, there were no court proceedings to confirm whether that could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

There are very layered sanctions that prevent direct trade between the US and Venezuela, and there are definitely companies with high-level access to the White House lobbying for an end to those sanctions. As Rep. Salazar has mentioned, the oil reserves in Venezuela could go a long way toward assisting US oil companies in competing in the global economy. The question here remains whether lives should be put on the line to ensure profits for the C-suites of a handful of oil companies.