Tensions between Washington and Caracas continued to mount this week after President Trump reiterated his demand that Venezuela compensate the United States for oil assets nationalized by the South American nation decades ago. The remarks come amid an expanding U.S. military presence in the Caribbean and heightened political pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday at Joint Base Andrews, Trump repeated his claim that Venezuela “took all of our energy rights” and insisted the U.S. is now seeking their return. “You remember, they took all of our energy rights. They took all of our oil from not that long ago, and we want it back,” Trump said. “But they took it; they illegally took it.”
The president doubled down moments later, portraying the matter as a failure of previous U.S. leadership. “They took it away because we had a president that maybe wasn’t watching, but they’re not going to do that. We want it back,” he said. “They took our oil rights, we had a lot of oil there, as you know, they threw our companies out, and we want it back.”
Trump’s comments follow a series of increasingly aggressive steps by his administration, including the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker near Venezuelan waters just over a week ago. Earlier this week, the administration also moved to designate Maduro’s government as a foreign terrorist organization and ordered a blockade on all sanctioned tankers entering or exiting Venezuela.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump described an expanding U.S. naval presence in the region, writing that “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.” He added that the deployment would “only get bigger” “until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
While the Venezuelan government has not publicly acknowledged the latest statements, the country’s petroleum sector has been a point of tension for decades. U.S. oil companies operated widely in Venezuela until the country began nationalizing its oil industry in the 1970s, a shift that eventually placed the sector under full state control.
Members of Congress have raised concerns that the administration’s escalating posture could edge the region closer to open conflict. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has faced scrutiny for authorizing strikes on what the administration describes as drug-smuggling vessels—operations critics argue risk drawing the U.S. into broader hostilities.
On Wednesday, House lawmakers rejected two Democratic-led resolutions that sought to restrict the boat strikes and curb the administration’s authority to engage in “hostilities within or against Venezuela.” Opponents of the resolutions argued that limiting the operations would weaken U.S. leverage over Maduro’s government, while supporters warned that unchecked escalation could have unpredictable consequences.
Although U.S.–Venezuela relations have been strained for years, the latest developments underscore the speed at which the situation has intensified. With the administration signaling additional military pressure and Venezuela accusing the U.S. of aggression, the region faces growing uncertainty about what the next phase of the confrontation may bring.
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