President Donald Trump has always loved the idea of taking other countries' oil by force. And he claims to have accomplished that goal in Venezuela. The war there "lasted 48 minutes, and we paid for the war with what we've taken out many, many, many times. Where have you heard that before? You haven't heard that before. That's the old fashioned way, right? The old-fashioned way. To the victor belong the spoils," Trump told a crowd in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
That's not how other officials advertised U.S. oversight of Venezuelan oil. "We're the bankers, we don't direct the funds," Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent told the Economic Club of Minnesota in January. "This is the oil of the people of Venezuela," Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified to Congress a few weeks later, claiming that the U.S. government was making sure that "the needs of the Venezuelan people can be met" through oil sales.
In a way, they're both right. Shortly after the U.S. military operation in Venezuela on January 3, 2026, the two countries cut a deal to put sanctioned Venezuelan oil revenues under the control of the U.S. Treasury. The money still belongs to Venezuela on paper, but it's controlled by U.S. officials for all practical purposes—and trying to get any transparency on where it's going has been like pulling teeth.
The oil deal demonstrates the raw, unaccountable, and global power that economic sanctions give to the U.S. Treasury. Neither the American nor the Venezuelan people have a clear picture of what's going on. The case of Venezuela also shows how, despite invoking Ronald Reagan's anticommunism, the Trump administration is much more concerned with imposing direct economic control than nurturing free markets. After all, the Venezuelan oil deal is a U.S. partnership with a socialist dictatorship.
Over the past two decades, the U.S. Treasury had imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan oil and banking sectors, preventing Venezuela's state-owned oil company from exporting to North America and its socialist government from dealing in U.S. dollars. After the January 2026 operation, the Venezuelan leadership cut a deal. The Trump administration issued sanctions exemptions and even shielded Venezuelan money from U.S. lawsuits. In exchange, Venezuela began putting its oil revenues into bank accounts in the "custody" of the U.S. Treasury.
#january
That's not how other officials advertised U.S. oversight of Venezuelan oil. "We're the bankers, we don't direct the funds," Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent told the Economic Club of Minnesota in January. "This is the oil of the people of Venezuela," Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified to Congress a few weeks later, claiming that the U.S. government was making sure that "the needs of the Venezuelan people can be met" through oil sales.
In a way, they're both right. Shortly after the U.S. military operation in Venezuela on January 3, 2026, the two countries cut a deal to put sanctioned Venezuelan oil revenues under the control of the U.S. Treasury. The money still belongs to Venezuela on paper, but it's controlled by U.S. officials for all practical purposes—and trying to get any transparency on where it's going has been like pulling teeth.
The oil deal demonstrates the raw, unaccountable, and global power that economic sanctions give to the U.S. Treasury. Neither the American nor the Venezuelan people have a clear picture of what's going on. The case of Venezuela also shows how, despite invoking Ronald Reagan's anticommunism, the Trump administration is much more concerned with imposing direct economic control than nurturing free markets. After all, the Venezuelan oil deal is a U.S. partnership with a socialist dictatorship.
Over the past two decades, the U.S. Treasury had imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan oil and banking sectors, preventing Venezuela's state-owned oil company from exporting to North America and its socialist government from dealing in U.S. dollars. After the January 2026 operation, the Venezuelan leadership cut a deal. The Trump administration issued sanctions exemptions and even shielded Venezuelan money from U.S. lawsuits. In exchange, Venezuela began putting its oil revenues into bank accounts in the "custody" of the U.S. Treasury.
#january
2 months ago
