The US’s Economic Incentive to Oust Venezuelan President Maduro

Officially, the main reason for toppling Maduro’s regime in Venezuela is that he is suspected of pushing drugs into the USA. However, during the press conference after Operation Absolute Resolve to remove Maduro, Trump revealed that the US will now run the country and American oil companies will ‘rebuild the oil infrastructure.’

As expected, China and Russia have firmly condemned the action as a violation of the sovereignty and the UN Charter. The US is presenting the operation as ‘the long arm of justice’ to capture a drug cartel kingpin, as executed by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and assisted by Delta Force of the US Army.

In 2024, Venezuela’s oil production was about one million barrels per day (bpd). That figure is actually a drop from its peak in the 1970s, when Venezuela was outputting nearly three million bpd. Additionally, it is worth noting that Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves in the world, surpassing those of Saudi Arabia.

American oil giant Chevron maintained its operations in Venezuela even in the midst of US sanctions, thanks to a ‘special waiver’ from the US Treasury. The main buyer of Venezuelan crude was actually China, which negotiated a very nice low price, knowing full well that Venezuela did not have many outlets for its crude. Therefore, the USA is killing two birds with one stone by taking over Venezuela.

The day before the attack, Maduro received a delegation from China led by the Latin American Affairs QIU Xiaoqi at the Maraflores palace in Caracas. Both sides reiterated their willingness to cooperate and to a ‘multipolar world.’ However, Secretary Rubio clarified that the timing of the strike had nothing to do with this visit and was based on ‘preset trigger-based conditions.’

Some reports indicated that China and Venezuela had a flurry of agreements worth several billions of dollars. There are more than 300,000 Chinese nationals in Venezuela, out of total population of nearly 30 million.

Trump clearly seeks control of the Venezuelan oil, and American oil companies stand ready enter the Venezuelan market. Another contributing factor is that most of the refineries in Texas and Louisiana are geared for the kind of heavy crude that Venezuela produces, rather than the light crude that comes out of fracking of shale oil and gas on American soil.

In December 2025, the US released its National Security Strategy, which clearly stated that the US seeks to be the regional hegemon in its neighborhood, the Western Hemisphere, a sphere of influence that extends from Greenland in the north to Patagonia in the South, while passing through the Caribbean in the middle.

During the same press conference, US State Secretary Marco Rubio underlined that Trump is a man of action and means what he says. He even hinted that Cuba might be next on the hit list of the US. US War Secretary Peter Hegseth painted the operation as a case of ‘Peace Through Strength.’ US President Donald Trump recalled the Monroe Doctrine, revisited in the style of the Don.