The grift goes on
Trump had hoped to convince executives from around two
dozen oil companies
to invest in Venezuela after the president claimed US firms pledged to spend at least $100
billion in the country. However, Trump got a reality check during
Friday’s White
House meeting, as at least one Big Oil CEO balked at
committing financial and other resources in an uncertain political, legal, and
security environment.
“If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and
frameworks in place today in Venezuela today, it’s uninvestable,” ExxonMobil CEO
Darren Woods told Trump during the meeting. “Significant changes
have to be made to those commercial frameworks, the legal system. There has to
be durable investment protections, and there has to be a change to the
hydrocarbon laws in the country.”
There is also skepticism regarding Trump’s promise of “total safety” for investors in Venezuela
amid deadly US
military aggression and regime change.
However, many of the executives—who stand
to make billions of dollars from the invasion—told Trump that they
remain eager to eventually reap the rewards of any potential US takeover of
Venezuela’s vast oil resources.
The oil executives’ apparent
aversion to immediate investment in Venezuela—and Trump’s own admission that the American people might end up
reimbursing Big Oil for its efforts—prompted backlash from taxpayer advocates.
“Trump must not give these companies billions in handouts and stick American taxpayers with the bill,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said on social media Friday. “And oil execs should commit now: no taxpayer subsidies, no special favors from the White House.”
Sam Ratner, policy director at the group Win Without
War, said Wednesday that “already today, Trump was saying
that US taxpayers should front the money to rebuild Venezuelan oil infrastructure, all
while oil companies keep the proceeds from the oil.”
“This is not just a war for oil, but a war for oil
executives,” Ratner added.
Noting that “Big Oil spent nearly $100 million to get Trump
elected in 2024,” former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich—who served during the
Clinton administration—described Friday’s
meeting as “returning the favor” and “oligarchy in
action.”
According to an analysis by the advocacy group Climate
Power, fossil
fuel industry interests spent nearly $450
million during the 2024 election cycle
in support of Trump and other Republican candidates and initiatives.
Reich and others also noted that Trump informed oil executives about the Venezuelan invasion
even before he notified members of Congress.
“That tells you everything you need to know: It was never
about ‘narcoterrorism’ and always about oil,” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) said on Bluesky.
The legal watchdog Democracy Forward
this week filed a Freedom of Information Act request demanding
information about any possible Trump
administration collusion with Big Oil in the lead-up to the Venezuela
invasion.
Other observers shot down assertions by Trump and members of
his administration that the attack on Venezuela and Maduro’s ouster are
ultimately about restoring democracy.
“Want to know who’s meeting with Trump this morning about
Venezuela’s future?” Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) asked on
X.
“Not pro-democracy leaders,” she said. “Oil and gas
executives.”
