Palm Beach, Florida, 04 January (H.S.): President Donald Trump announced on January 3, 2026, during a Mar-a-Lago press conference that premier American oil conglomerates would surge into Venezuela to overhaul its dilapidated infrastructure and extract billions from the world's largest proven crude reserves, capping the stunning capture of Nicolás Maduro via Operation Absolute Resolve. We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country, Trump proclaimed, while upholding the 2019 embargo prohibiting Venezuelan exports to the U.S. but permitting inflows for reconstruction.

This pivot follows U.S. seizures of two sanctioned tankers amid a weeks-long naval buildup, targeting Maduro's alleged financing of drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping through black-market sales yielding steep discounts on roughly one million daily barrels.

Sanctions' Strategic Pivot

Venezuela's output, throttled to approximately one million barrels per day under sanctions since 2019, predominantly feeds shadowy networks at fire-sale prices, fueling Maduro's regime accused of narco-terrorism ties warranting his New York extradition alongside wife Cilia Flores.

Trump warned residual Venezuelan politicos and brass: What happened to Maduro can happen to them, signaling escalated accountability post-raid's flawless execution—no U.S. deaths, minor injuries notwithstanding. Vice President JD Vance framed the incursion as culmination of rebuffed off-ramps, prioritizing resource reclamation over prolonged isolation.

Economic Reckoning Dawns

Major firms like ExxonMobil and Chevron—poised for entry—eye Orinoco Belt's 300 billion barrels, eclipsing Saudi Arabia's, to catalyze billions in investments amid interim U.S. stewardship rejecting opposition figure María Corina Machado for lacking respect.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez decried recolonization, vowing resource defense, as India advisories urge evacuations and Brazil laments precedents. This heralds Venezuela's prospective revival or subjugation, reshaping hemispheric energy dynamics.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar