"The government of the oil-rich nation took control of its petroleum industry in 1976, nationalizing hundreds of private businesses and foreign-owned assets."
"In 1976, the government of oil-rich Venezuela assumed control of the country’s petroleum industry, nationalizing hundreds of private businesses and foreign-owned assets, including projects operated by the American giant ExxonMobil.
In 2007, Hugo Chávez, the founder of Venezuela’s socialist state, assumed control of the last privately run oil operations in the Orinoco Belt, home to the country’s largest oil deposits.
The White House said Saturday that an operation launched overnight to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and fly them out of the country was justified in part by Venezuela having stolen U.S. oil. ...
But U.S. companies never owned oil or land in Venezuela, home to the world’s largest proven reserves of crude, and officials didn’t kick them out of the country.
“Trump’s claim that Venezuela has stolen oil and land from the U.S. is baseless,” said Francisco Rodríguez, a Venezuelan economist at the University of Denver."
Tobi Raji and Leo Sands report for the Washington Post January 3, 2026.
SEE ALSO:
"Did Venezuela 'Illegally' Steal U.S. Oil, As Trump Claimed? What To Know" (Snopes)
"The Big Obstacles To Trump’s Plan For A Venezuelan Oil Windfall" (Washington Post)
"Venezuela: The Rise and Fall of a Petrostate" (Council on Foreign Relations)
"Experts Reject Trump’s Reading Of Venezuela’s 1976 Oil Nationalization" (EFE)
"Does The US Have Any Real Claim On Venezuelan Oil As Stephen Miller Says?" (Aljazeera)
"The Theft That Never Was: Inside Venezuela’s 1976 Oil Takeover" (Caracas Chronicles)
"Explainer: Why Chevron Still Operates In Venezuela Despite US Sanctions" (EuroNews)
"The US Government is Not the Daddy of US Oil Companies" (CounterPunch)
"Trump Long Wanted to ‘Take the Oil.’ He Says He’ll Do It in Venezuela." (New York Times)
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