The crisis between Venezuela and the United States has escalated in recent months to the brink of an open military confrontation. Under the official pretext of the fight against drug trafficking — bombings of “narco-boats” in the Caribbean allegedly linked to Venezuela, a U.S. naval deployment in the region, threats of ground attacks — the real underlying motive seems to be something else: control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves; its state-owned company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), has historically been a key player in the global market and particularly in U.S. imports — a dynamic that began to change with the arrival of Hugo Chavez to power more than 25 years ago.
For the United States — immersed in what can be described as a new era of energy competition and technological transformation (AI, electrification, energy transition) — controlling fossil fuel sources remains strategic. Even as the world moves toward transition, heavy crude, diluents, and export infrastructure remain power assets and the origin of many disguised conflicts.
Venezuelan oil fuels tensions with the US
In this context, the military and political tension with Venezuela has a double reading: On one hand, Washington pushes sanctions, revoked licenses, naval deployment, and signs of possible intervention — all under the excuse of fighting drug trafficking and Nicolas Maduro’s dictatorship.
On the other hand, there is a clear interest in preventing other global players — especially China — from consolidating their presence in Venezuela and taking control of its energy resources.
For example, China and Chinese companies have signed contracts with PDVSA to exploit oil blocks and reactivate production in exchange for crude oil, showing that Beijing is taking advantage of Venezuela’s weakness to deepen its energy influence.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has revoked licenses for Western companies to operate in Venezuela, aiming to suffocate the Maduro regime and indirectly control production. Thus, beyond rhetoric, it’s a matter of resource geopolitics: the race to secure supply, infrastructure, and access to key reserves.
The ‘war on drugs’: Justification or smokescreen?
Washington has repeatedly pointed to Venezuela as a hub for drug trafficking networks, cartels, and “narco-boats” entering the Caribbean. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced attacks on vessels allegedly tied to traffickers, claiming they were legitimate interdiction missions.
But there are reasons to view this narrative with skepticism. On one hand, no clear legal results or evidence chains have been made public linking those vessels to cartels in Venezuela. Moreover, the timing — an intense naval, diplomatic, and sanctions deployment — coincides with maneuvers that favor a possible reordering of Venezuela’s oil market.
From Caracas, however, the interpretation is different. According to Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, the true motivation of the U.S. is the “theft of our oil, gas, and gold resources” — not the fight against drugs. And at least on that point, she is not entirely wrong. Incidentally, Rodriguez herself offered the U.S. Maduro’s departure in exchange for keeping the same system of government intact — something that, obviously, is of no interest to the Americans.
The truth is that the “war on drugs” appears less as an end in itself and more as political justification — a cover for a broader foreign policy: Securing energy access, curbing China, and weakening a regime — Maduro’s — that serves as a resource launcher toward the U.S.’s direct competitors. There is talk of freedom and human rights, but the reasoning is much closer to resource access.
We live in a world looking toward the future — with the explosion of artificial intelligence, electric mobility, and energy efficiency. But in that transition, oil remains central. Why? Because many industries, many refineries, and many industrial processes still depend on heavy crude, diluents, and existing logistics. And because whoever controls those reserves today will have an advantage in the coming years of structural change. Venezuela, through PDVSA, holds that “black gold.”
The United States, with its own vulnerabilities — Gulf Coast refineries specialized in heavy crude and a need for diluents — cannot afford to lose that supply. At the same time, China, India, Russia, and other energy-hungry players are looking toward Latin America with ambition. The reality is that the growth of Eastern influence in the region has increased exponentially over the past two decades and will continue to rise.
Venezuelan oil in the US-Venezuelan opposition bargain
If the U.S. does not act, it could lose influence over that vast heavy crude reserve that could play a key role in the next decade. In that sense, pressure on Venezuela is not only about Maduro. It’s a larger geopolitical chess move where the energy, technological, and military boards converge.
In a recent conversation with Donald Trump Jr., Maria Corina Machado — Nobel Peace Prize laureate and leader of the Venezuelan opposition — pledged to privatize the country’s vast oil reserves should the Maduro regime be replaced by the opposition.
“We have infinite potential, and we are going to open markets. We are going to kick out the government from the oil sector; we are going to privatize all our industry,” she said. “Venezuela is going to be the brightest opportunity for investment by American companies, by good people, who are going to make a lot of money.”
These strong statements reflect the clear U.S. interest in supporting a regime change in Venezuela, as the opposition appears to be openly offering access to the country’s “infinite” oil reserves in exchange for a political power transition.
🚨⚡️ Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado proposes regime change in Venezuela to Donald Trump:
"Forget Saudi Arabia, I mean we have more oil than them, I mean endless possibilities. We will privatize our entire industry for you. American companies will profit greatly!" pic.twitter.com/OuwCbiKpoI
— RussiaNews 🇷🇺 (@mog_russEN) October 14, 2025
The US and Venezuela: When liberty no longer leads the people
While Washington multiplies its military threats against Nicolas Maduro’s government, it remains conspicuously silent about equally authoritarian regimes such as Daniel Ortega’s in Nicaragua. The difference, as always, seems to be measured in barrels of oil, not democratic principles.
Nicaragua, unlike Venezuela, has no energy or strategic mineral reserves. Yet its institutional deterioration is undeniable. Daniel Ortega, in power since 2007, has destroyed all forms of political opposition, jailed or exiled his opponents, and turned the country into a “family monarchy.” His wife, Rosario Murillo, was first appointed vice president and then, through a questionable constitutional reform, became “co-president,” in a crude legal manipulation that dissolves any vestige of separation of powers.
Reports of human rights violations, police repression, and censorship of the independent press have been constant. Yet Washington does not deploy fleets in the Caribbean or impose massive sanctions. The reason is simple: Nicaragua has no oil and no state company such as PDVSA that could disrupt the continent’s energy balance.
U.S. hypocrisy has historical roots. In the 1980s, during Ronald Reagan’s administration, money from the Medellin cartel was — according to multiple investigations — channeled to finance the Nicaraguan “Contras,” a paramilitary army fighting Sandinismo with the then-covert backing of the CIA. While proclaiming the “war on drugs,” the Reagan administration accepted drug money to sustain its ideological crusade in Central America.
Today, 40 years later, history seems to be repeating itself: Washington denounces dictatorships and human rights violations only when they threaten its energy or geopolitical interests. On the Latin American chessboard, democracy remains a convenient excuse to maintain a dominance that, too often, local elites turn into plunder.
Meanwhile, the real victims — from those suffering the consequences of drug trafficking to ordinary Venezuelans deprived of freedom — keep waiting, in vain, for either side to truly care about their needs.