Transcript
A (0:00)
This is a bonus episode of history as it happens. It's January 14, 2026. In Venezuela, it is all about the oil. But why?
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Decades ago, the United States built Venezuela's oil industry, a tremendous expense with American skill, technology, know how, and dollars. But those assets were stolen from us, and we had presidents did nothing about it.
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That was President Trump speaking at a White House roundtable with oil executives about his plans to exploit Venezuela's crude oil reserves, the largest known reserves in the world. Well, since US Special forces snatched Nicolas Maduro and hauled him back to New York City, Americans have been asking a lot of questions about Venezuela, whose economy has collapsed despite or because of its heavy reliance on oil. There are also questions concerning who would stand to benefit from extracting and selling more Venezuelan oil in a global market where there is no shortage right now. Well, the Venezuelan government does need the revenue. The New York Times reports the US Is now brokering the sale of millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil, which have been trapped in the country since the Trump administration started a partial blockade against tankers carrying crude from Venezuela. This involves about 50 million barrels of oil now in storage, and the sale is designed to prevent the collapse of Venezuela's oil industry, its main source of revenue. If the oil business were to collapse, the country would unravel and then the Trump administration would not be able to pursue its longer term plans to extract the crude reserves. The US Blockade already had Venezuela on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, unable to sell the oil in its limited storage facilities. The article goes on to say two global commodity trading companies are handling this sale and for about $50 a barrel, a big increase over the roughly $30 that the country was getting for the oil that it had previously exported to China to circumvent American sanctions. So what would come after this initial sale? Are US Oil companies clamoring to return to exploit what one former Venezuelan oil minister called the devil's excrement? With Washington running the country's oil industry, supposedly for the benefit of its citizens. You know, it was petroleum that once brought Venezuela prosperity and stability during an era when countries were nationalizing their industries after decades of foreign domination and when OPEC began to set prices, prosperity and stability as long as oil prices stayed high. In the early years, under Hugo Chavez, who was elected in 1998, Oil was selling for a about $10 a barrel. It reached a record $150 in 2008 before plummeting years later down to about $30 a barrel in 2016. This, combined with sanctions, destroyed Venezuela's economy. Giuliano Garavini teaches international history at Roma Tre University in Rome. He specializes in European integration, decolonization in the global south, the history of energy and natural resources. Giuliano Garavini, welcome to the show.