Maduro’s capture puts Venezuela’s vast oil reserves in the spotlight
Venezuelan oil is an important resource during the transition of power
Former US Army Capt. Doug Truax and former US Navy Capt. Brent Sadler joined ‘Fox News Live’ to discuss the attack on Venezuela and capture of Nicolas Maduro, details of the raid on Maduro’s compound and more.
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At dawn on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced the stunning capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro; This is a dramatic development for a country that sits on the world’s largest oil reserves but has been hobbled by years of economic collapse and political turmoil.
Trump accused Venezuela’s socialist government of seizing American energy assets and dismantling an industry built with U.S. investments.
“Venezuela unilaterally seized and sold American oil, American assets and American platforms, costing us billions of dollars,” Trump said at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. “They took all our goods”
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Drivers pass the ‘El Palito’ refinery at dusk during a walk on the outskirts of the refinery on December 18, 2025 in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
“We built Venezuela’s oil industry with American talent, effort and skill, and the socialist regime stole it from us,” he added. Trump added that US energy companies will play a key role in rebuilding the Latin American country’s oil sector.
“We’re going to have our very large US oil companies step in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” he said.
Venezuela, which is about twice the size of California, has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. At an estimated 300 billion barrels, or about 20% of the global total and nearly four times the size of U.S. reserves, this wealth dwarfs that of any other country.
However, most of this oil is difficult and expensive to produce. Venezuela’s reserves are dominated by heavy and extra-heavy crude oil, which requires specialized equipment, ongoing maintenance, and advanced refining capacity; many of these have broken down after years of underinvestment and losses of skilled labor.
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Beyond technical challenges, Venezuela’s crisis-hit economy and ongoing political instability have further limited Venezuela’s ability to convert these reserves into sustainable production. Similar dynamics have occurred in countries such as Iran and Libya, where turmoil and sanctions restrict production despite great resource wealth.
“Venezuela under Maduro and his predecessor has devastated the Venezuelan economy,” said Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of the Center for Energy, Climate and Environment at the Heritage Foundation. He said that the communist system in the country had emptied the industrial base.
“That’s why Maduro relies almost entirely on oil; it’s his only profitable source of income,” he added.
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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro addresses his supporters at a rally commemorating the anniversary of the 19th-century Battle of Santa Ines in Caracas, Venezuela, on December 10, 2025. (Pedro Rances Mattey/Anadolu via Getty Images))
Venezuela’s stockpiles, now larger than those of energy giants such as Saudi Arabia, have become a central flashpoint in the geopolitical struggle surrounding the country’s future.
Trump said his administration will continue to embargo Venezuelan oil and keep pressure on the country’s main source of income.
Whether Venezuela’s oil wealth can be unlocked now depends not only on political change but also on whether years of underinvestment, decaying infrastructure and technical difficulties can be reversed; This is a costly and complex task requiring billions of dollars and sustainable stability.
