Trump makes it clear shocking Venezuelan regime change is largely about oil: ‘They stole our oil … We’re going to make a lot of money’

An oil tanker is seen anchored in Lake Maracaibo after loading crude oil at the Bajo Grande Refinery port. The Trump administration seized the oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. The vessel, which was on the Treasury Department's sanctions list and was sailing under the Guyanese flag, was on the US Treasury Department's sanctions list. The US president threatened to confiscate all hydrocarbon-laden vessels in the Venezuelan oil-producing nation. (Credit: Getty Images)

President Donald Trump confirmed the startling attacks in Venezuela and the arrest of leader Nicolás Maduro were largely about its vast oil reserves—not just drugs and immigration—arguing that American oil companies will rebuild the Venezuelan crude industry to compensate the U.S. financially and enrich the Venezuelan people.

“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies—the biggest anywhere in the world—go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” Trump said during a press conference on Saturday.