The President of the United States, Donald Trump, met with top CEOs of American oil giants, confirming that Venezuela and its vast oil reserves are at the center of a dangerous geopolitical chessboard.
As the American president himself stated, the United States has a “right” to the country’s oil and is now claiming what it considers to belong to it.
According to Trump, immediate exploitation of up to 50 million barrels of crude oil has been agreed, in a process that, as he claims, will continue “indefinitely”.
Indeed, he stated that just yesterday the United States extracted 30 million barrels, worth approximately 4 billion dollars, with the largest portion of the money going to America and a small portion to Venezuela.
Big Oil invests or takes risks?
Trump argued that major oil companies, such as Chevron and Exxon Mobil, will invest billions of dollars from their own resources to rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, with the risk and the reward resting exclusively on them.
However, Darren Woods of Exxon emphasized the need for legal and commercial reforms in the country in order for investment to become feasible.
Mark Nelson, Vice President of Chevron, for his part, revealed that Trump had advised him six months ago to remain in Venezuela:
“Just stay. You will see what happens. I did not know that events would unfold so quickly,” the president said.
Trump claims that Venezuela agreed to allow the United States to immediately begin processing and selling its crude oil, a process that will continue “indefinitely”.
This prospect creates a unique, but also extremely dangerous advantage for the United States and American companies, placing the country at the center of global energy control.
Trump added that he will soon meet with representatives of the country, among them opposition figure Maria Corina Machado, to discuss the next steps.
Alongside Venezuela, Trump declared himself determined to “close” the Greenland issue by any means, either “easily or with difficulty”, citing fears that Russia or China could expand there.
Marco Rubio and the three phase strategy
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio presented the United States strategy in Venezuela in three phases:
1) Stabilization: Creation of a market for Venezuela’s oil that will benefit the United States and the country.
2) Recovery: Return to a normal economy, with revenues benefiting the people.
3) Transition to normality: Reestablishment of strong economic and diplomatic relations, with the country supporting the interests of Washington.
Rubio also warned Cuba that if it continues on its current path, it risks social collapse, underscoring Washington’s clear pressure strategy across the entire region.
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