(From a NYT report, paywalled link below) Just days ago Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government offered President Trump a dominant stake in Venezuela's oil and other natural resources in exchange for easing U.S. sanctions. These reports followed Trump's announcement that he had authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela and was considering military action. Trump reportedly rejected the offer.
Maduro offered the U.S. a large stake in its oil and other natural resources in an attempt to end sanctions. Venezuela offered the Trump administration extensive access to the country's oil and mineral wealth. The proposal included: opening up oil and gold projects to U.S. companies, granting U.S. businesses preferential contracts, redirecting oil exports from China to the U.S. and cutting contracts with Chinese, Iranian, and Russian firms. The offer was made after Trump increased pressure on Venezuela, labeling the Maduro government a "narco-terror cartel," and carried out military strikes on boats in the Caribbean.
(Paywall) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/world/americas/maduro-venezuela-us-oil.html
Clearly, Big Oil wants to overthrow Maduro's government and regain contol of Venezuela's oil industry. In May 2024, Donald Trump asked executives from major oil companies for a $1 billion donation for his presidential campaign. Contributions from executives in the energy sector increased dramatically following that meeting.
(Politico, 5/9/24) "Former President Donald Trump asked oil industry executives last month to donate $1 billion to aid his campaign to retake the White House, three people familiar with the conversation told POLITICO — a request that campaign finance experts said appeared troubling but is probably legal...The request, first reported Thursday by The Washington Post, occurred during a meeting of industry executives at the former president’s home in Palm Beach, Florida."
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/09/trump-asks-oil-executives-campaign-finance-00157131
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