Trump’s Venezuelan Prize: 65 Billion Barrels, 100 Years and 55 Percent of Oil Flow

The main monument to the new school of reparations appears to be Venezuela. Only recently, the country dominated the headlines: the American military operation, the capture of Nicolás Maduro, his removal to the United States, an interim government headed by Delcy Rodríguez, and Donald Trump’s statements about the country’s new future. Then attention shifted to Iran, the Strait of Hormuz and yet another major war. Venezuela was almost forgotten. Meanwhile, it was there, quietly, that perhaps the most interesting thing was happening: the price of the American victory was being determined. Or, more precisely, how much does Venezuela owe Trump for its new happy future under US patronage? Read Part I of the series: How Trump Is Turning Wars and Settlements Into Business Deals After Venezuelan President Maduro was captured, Washington invited American oil companies to return to Venezuela and restore production. And then a small problem emerged. Business failed to display the expected patriotic enthusiasm. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods effectively described Venezuela as “uninvestable.” And it was easy to understand the oil executives. They remembered perfectly well the nationalizations under Hugo Chávez, the lost assets, years of arbitration, devastated infrastructure and, above all, the possibility that the political wind could change again in a few years and another government could declare all previous agreements criminal. The oil was there. A great deal of it. But turning it into money would require years and billions of dollars. There were no guarantees that investors would ever see those billions again. None whatsoever. And apparently, it was not only the oil executives who understood that.