Venezuela’s oil industry has flailed under government control – Mexico and Brazil have had more success with nationalizing

The Venezuelan state-run oil company is contending with aging infrastructure. Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump has ignited a contentious debate over who has the right to control Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

Speaking on Jan. 3, 2026, after the U.S. military seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the U.S. president declared, “We built Venezuela’s oil industry, and now we’re going to take it back.”