Trump says Venezuela is ‘completely surrounded’ — then demands its oil, land, and assets

Ever so often, the goofy side of the Donald Trump administration — where he’s constructing ludicrous ballrooms or writing mean captions beneath his predecessor’s presidential portraits — gives way to his more insidious agendas. In one of his latest Truth Social posts and a subsequent interview, Trump all but confirmed that he is looking to ensure a regime change in Venezuela in order to consolidate its vast oil reserves.

In the administration’s recent profile, where they were portrayed in an unflattering manner in more ways than one, Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, confirmed that the claim Venezuela is a thorn in their side because of drug trafficking was a misnomer. Wiles said of their plan, “He wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle. And people way smarter than me on that say that he will.”

Trump seemingly decided to use Truth Social accurately and dispense with political maneuvering or niceties almost to a fault, choosing instead to admit that there will be a “complete and total blockade” of Venezuela until they “give up land, oil and assets to the United States.” Members of the president’s inner circle took their marching orders and rushed to X to reiterate the decree. Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller even claimed that it was American labor that built Venezuela’s oil industry and that the administration is simply trying to take back what rightfully belongs to Americans.

American sweat, ingenuity and toil created the oil industry in Venezuela. Its tyrannical expropriation was the largest recorded theft of American wealth and property. These pillaged assets were then used to fund terrorism and flood our streets with killers, mercenaries and drugs. https://t.co/SXCAjcsFiF

— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) December 17, 2025

What the Trump administration is referring to is, in reality, a business deal gone awry — not something that necessarily involves taxpayers. So, at best, this is Trump using the U.S. military to ensure that his billionaire peers can resume exploiting Venezuelan oil. At worst, it’s one of Trump’s infamous vindictive missions, attempting to make the Venezuelan people pay for oil barons falling out with the regime.

In the early 20th century, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, and several smaller oil companies joined forces and heavily invested in the country’s uniquely viscous crude oil. For a long time, the arrangement was symbiotic between the strategic partners, albeit with a few issues here and there. In 1976, everything changed when the Venezuelan government began nationalizing its oil industry. By 2007, the American companies were fully forced to either cede or sell their stakes in the country.

That is what Trump’s aides mean when they refer to Venezuela’s oil industry as “theft.” And at this point, it’s hardly a secret that Trump is openly liaising with billionaires across industries to ensure their business interests continue uninterrupted. His primary focus now appears to be keeping donations flowing for his ballroom construction.

Whether this ultimately results in a full-scale war on Venezuela may be an overestimation. But the claim that this has anything to do with drug trafficking is increasingly untenable. At best, that justification is a convenient coincidence.

Make no mistake: this is largely about securing the interests of oil barons, even if that has to come at the cost of U.S. Army servicemen who have dedicated their lives to protecting the safety of their countrymen.