There has been much speculation about the Trump administration’s end goal with Venezuela. Is it really about drugs coming into the United States? Or are they trying to trigger regime change to oust Nicolas Maduro?
The answer is probably the latter. The answer also has to do with a precious natural resource: oil.
Earlier in December, Pam Bondi announced that the U.S. had seized a crude oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Allegedly, the tanker was being used to “transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela to Iran.” (RELATED: With All Eyes On Venezuela, Trump Has Been Raining Hell Down On Ilhan Omar’s Homeland)
Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple… pic.twitter.com/dNr0oAGl5x
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) December 10, 2025
After the seizure, a reporter asked Trump what the government would do with the oil. In typical Trump fashion, the president responded, “Well, we keep it, I guess.”
And perhaps this was the strategy all along. The administration’s strikes on the high seas were never about fentanyl or drug cartels; it was about triggering the Venezuelan government’s collapse, installing someone friendly to the United States, i.e., Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, and gaining access to the country’s oil.
During a speech in 2023, Trump expressed regret that his first administration was never able to capitalize on Venezuelan regime change.
“How about we’re buying oil from Venezuela? When I left, Venezuela was ready to collapse. We would have taken it over. We would have gotten all that oil. It would have been right next door. But now, we’re buying oil from Venezuela. So, we’re making a dictator very rich,” Trump said.
The Biden administration never actually bought oil, however they did ease sanctions and allow limited imports of Venezuelan crude oil through private companies, namely Chevron.
Going back further to 2019, Trump’s current director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, shared a blunt assessment of the first Trump administration’s regime change goals.
Oil lobbyists have “unprecedented access” to Trump’s administration—meanwhile Pence/Bolton continue their crusade for regime change in Venezuela, the world’s richest oil reserves. The height of swamp politics. #PeopleBeforeProfits #ServiceBeforeSelf https://t.co/jlbip5u8tV
— Tulsi Gabbard ? (@TulsiGabbard) April 4, 2019
“Oil lobbyists have ‘unprecedented access’ to Trump’s administration—meanwhile Pence/Bolton continue their crusade for regime change in Venezuela, the world’s richest oil reserves. The height of swamp politics,” she posted.
Even Mrs. Nobel ‘Peace’ Prize Machado, who supports blowing people up, understands what the end goal is.
“For the U.S., we will turn this criminal hub into a security shield in the heart of the Americas. We will open Venezuela for foreign investment, I am talking about a 1.7 trillion dollar opportunity, not only in oil and gas … but also in mining, in gold, in infrastructure, power. We will open markets, we will have security for foreign investment, and a massive privatization program that is waiting for you,” she said at the recent American Business Forum in Miami.
This is not about “freedom” or “democracy” or liberating Venezuelans from an “illegitimate leader.” Nor is it about drugs. This is about money. This is about natural resources, oil, and cheap energy. This is about fully opening a new market to American business.
Follow the money, as they say…
