Oil, Fire, and Conflict in Venezuela

From Maduro’s Authoritarianism to Trump’s Insatiable Greed

When I woke up this morning, the first thing I did was message a dear friend, asking how she was doing. “Ahorita buscando agua y enlatados,” she told me. I asked if she was safe. She answered, “Las bombas cayeron cerca pero solo movio el edificio.” Then came a series of devastating videos of smoke, fire, sirens and explosions. Not exactly your regular early morning conversation, but for today, probably one that countless Venezuelans have had with someone who loves them.

To start off, let me make it clear: I do not in any way, shape or form agree with Nicolás Maduro’s politics. Maduro inherited Hugo Chávez’s iron executive rule but tightened control even further, presiding over a spectacular economic collapse marked by food shortages, rights violations, and mass emigration. His government repeatedly repressed dissent, including harsh crackdowns on protests in 2014 and 2017, and a recent UN fact‑finding mission found evidence of serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity. The 2024 presidential election, condemned by international observers and the Venezuelan opposition as fraudulent, cemented his third term despite widespread public rejection. Maduro’s rule has been authoritarian, corrupt, and disastrous for ordinary Venezuelans.

But none of this justifies what happened next.

In the early hours of January 3, 2026, Donald Trump ordered a large‑scale U.S. military strike on Venezuela, capturing Maduro and his wife and removing them from the country. Trump boasted that the assault, conducted by air, land, and sea, was “like people have not seen since World War Two” (as if the similarities were something to boast about). He then announced that the United States would “run” Venezuela until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” could occur. In other words, he unilaterally placed a sovereign nation under U.S. control.

This was not a humanitarian intervention. It was not sanctioned by the United Nations. Nor was it requested by Venezuelans. It was an autocratic invasion that killed civilians in strikes across Caracas and surrounding areas. It violated Article 2 of the UN Charter; Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the attack as a “clear violation” of international law. Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called it an “unacceptable line” and a dangerous precedent that reminds us of the worst moments of U.S. interference in Latin America.

“Mi casa queda en uno de los puntos donde atacaron,” my friend tells me. “Hay toque de queda. Y sigo sin luz.” This is what Trump has done in the name of “protecting” Venezuelan citizens. Instead of celebrating the new year with fireworks and festivities, my friend is sitting in the dark without sufficient food or water, surrounded by smoke and debris from American bombs and fire.

The scale of the assault (bombardments, special forces, and a massive military buildup in the Caribbean) made it clear that this was a military invasion. Trump has also made no secret that he intends to drill and extract Venezuelan oil reserves to line his own pockets with billions, leaving little doubt of the true motive behind this unprovoked attack. This was a hostile incursion for the sole purpose of resource extraction, and Maduro’s violent regime was just a convenient excuse. Trump coveted and did not care who or what he destroyed in his need for possession and consumption.

Maduro’s authoritarianism created immense suffering, but Trump’s greed and gluttony deepened the crisis, endangered civilians, and blatantly and flagrantly desecrated international laws meant to prevent exactly this kind of unilateral aggression. Venezuela deserves democracy, stability, and international solidarity, not bombardment, occupation, and the imposition of foreign control.