Earlier this month, President Donald Trump ordered a mission dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve” to invade Venezuela and take its President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from Caracas to the United States on narco-terrorism charges.
Trump made no specific commitments, but the president did broadly suggest long-lasting control over the country, stating that Venezuela could be in the United States’ pockets for “much longer” than a year.
It’s been stated that the U.S. will indefinitely be in control of sales of Venezuelan oil along with having forcefully seized six oil tankers linked to Venezuela.
In the interim, Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, is in office and has been backed by the U.S. as opposed to Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Machado, a prominent opposition leader, or Juan Guaidó, who many consider the legitamate winner of the country’s 2023 election.
In the interim office is held by Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, as backed by the U.S.
Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had been in communication with Rodriguez prior to her position as interim leader, stating that in their conversations she was gracious, and that, unlike Maduro, the U.S. could work with her.
Tensions rose as Rodriguez regarded Trump’s government as extremists and stated that the U.S. was violating national law. Trump warned on Sunday, if Rodríguez didn’t fall in line, “she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.”
Nobel Peace Prize winner and Maduro’s opposition had allegedly won the previous election in 2024, raising the question of why the U.S. didn’t endorse her.
Earlier this month, after Maduro’s ouster, Trump had said Machado, “doesn’t have the support within, or the respect within, the country … She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect,” he said.
On Jan. 14, Machado offered her Nobel Peace Prize in exchange for endorsement, though the Nobel institute barred her from doing so.
The U.S. is officially selling Venezuela oil, having made its first sale estimated at around $500 million, more sales estimated.
Last week, Trump hosted U.S. oil executives from nearly two dozen companies in the White House, though many expressed worries, including Venezuela’s instability and volatility.
At the meeting, Trump stated his intentions — that these companies spend $100 billion to book Venezuela’s oil industry — now that the U.S. is responsible for the country’s future.