Maduro’s capture puts Venezuela’s vast oil reserves in the spotlight

In the early hours of Saturday, Mr. president Donald Trump The stunning arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was announced, a dramatic development for a country that, despite sitting atop the world’s largest oil reserves, has suffered from years of economic collapse and political turmoil.

Trump accused the Venezuelan socialist government of seizing American energy assets and dismantling an industry built with American investments.

“Venezuela has unilaterally confiscated and sold American oil, American assets, and American platforms, costing us billions and billions of dollars,” Trump said during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. “They took all our belongings.”

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He added: “We built Venezuela’s oil industry with American talent, strength and skill, and the socialist regime stole it from us.” Trump added that American energy companies will play a major role in rebuilding the oil sector in the Latin American country.

“We will invite very large American oil companies to come in, spend billions of dollars, repair the badly damaged oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” he added.

Venezuela, roughly twice the size of California, has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. At 300 billion barrels, about 20% of the global total and nearly four times the reserves of the United States, this wealth is greater than that of any other country.

However, producing much of this oil is difficult and expensive. Venezuela’s reserves are dominated by heavy and extra-heavy crude oils that require specialized equipment, constant maintenance and advanced refining capacity, much of which has deteriorated after years of underinvestment and losses of skilled labor.

‘We built the oil industry in Venezuela:’ Trump pledges energy return to US after Maduro takeover

Technical challenges aside, Venezuela’s crisis-plagued economy and ongoing political instability have limited its ability to convert those reserves into sustainable production. Similar dynamics have played out in countries like Iran and Libya, where unrest and sanctions are constraining production despite vast resource wealth.

“Venezuela under Maduro and under his predecessor has devastated Venezuela’s economy,” said Diana Furchtgott Roth, director of the Center for Energy, Climate and Environment at the Heritage Foundation. She said that the country’s communist regime led to the hollowing out of its industrial base.

She added: “This is why Maduro depends almost entirely on oil. It is the only profitable source of income for him.”

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro addresses his supporters during a march marking the anniversary of the 19th century Battle of Santa Inés in Caracas, Venezuela, December 10, 2025. (Pedro Rances Mattei/Anadolu via Getty Images))

Venezuela’s stock, now larger than that of energy giants like Saudi Arabia, has become a central flashpoint in the geopolitical struggle surrounding the country’s future.

Trump said that his administration will continue to enforce its embargo on Venezuelan oil, while maintaining pressure on the country’s main source of revenue.

The possibility of unlocking Venezuela’s oil wealth now depends not only on political change, but also on whether years of underinvestment, crumbling infrastructure, and technical challenges can be reversed, an expensive and complex task that requires billions of dollars and sustained stability.