Trump’s Venezuela Heist Was Never About Freedom

It was about oil. And they’re not even hiding it.

Less than 24 hours after Donald Trump ordered U.S. forces into Venezuela and Nicolás Maduro was captured, the truth started leaking out. Not from the White House press room, but from Wall Street.

While administration officials fumbled through talking points on cable news, hedge fund managers and oil executives were already planning a March trip to Venezuela. About twenty of them. Energy, finance, defense. Their goal was simple: get in early and scope out the money.

This is the part that never makes it into the speeches.

Every Republican presidency follows the same pattern. First, tax cuts for the richest people in the country. Second, cuts to benefits for the most vulnerable. Third, a foreign conflict justified with a dozen different excuses. We are now on step three.

Only this time it isn’t George W. Bush. It’s Donald Trump, and he’s not even pretending anymore.

According to reporting, Trump claimed the takeover of Venezuela “won’t cost us anything” because American oil companies will rebuild the country’s energy infrastructure. Venezuela happens to sit on the largest proven oil reserves on the planet. He went even further, saying the United States would “run the country” until a transition could be arranged.

Not assist. Not stabilize. Run it.

This was never about democracy or human rights. It wasn’t even primarily about legality, though yes, it shredded both the Constitution and international law. This was about money, and Americans can feel it in their bones.

James Talerico put it bluntly. Last year, Trump promised oil executives a “great deal” if they raised a billion dollars for his campaign. Now he’s delivered Venezuela.

Even people who do not follow politics closely understand what’s happening. They may not know the legal arguments, but they recognize the betrayal. They remember being told there would be no new wars. They remember the lies from the 2000s. They know, instinctively, that governments lie for oil.

That’s why this feels so familiar.

A Republican president promises restraint.
A foreign intervention appears.
Corporations cash in.
The economy eventually crashes.
A Democrat inherits the damage and gets blamed.
Then the cycle resets.

What makes this moment especially disturbing is the speed. The first 24 to 48 hours after a regime collapse are the most fragile. This is when stability matters most. This is when outside actors should tread carefully.

Instead, financiers are already lining up meetings with the future president, the finance minister, the energy minister, the central bank, even the Caracas stock exchange. Before the country has had a chance to catch its breath.

Meanwhile, the administration can’t keep its story straight. Trump says it’s about oil. Marco Rubio says it’s about stopping drugs. Pete Hegseth says it’s about morality. Then Rubio pivots back to human rights. Ten explanations for one war.

But Wall Street isn’t confused at all. They know exactly why they’re going.

Because Trump has been telling us for months. Before Maduro was captured, he openly said the quiet part out loud. Venezuela was “ready to collapse,” he said. The U.S. would have taken it over. We would have gotten all that oil.

This wasn’t spontaneous. It wasn’t defensive. It was planned, pitched, and now it’s being monetized in real time.

If this all feels deeply wrong, that’s because it is.

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