Well, President Donald Trump has been unequivocal about the intent. Following the seizure of President Nicolás Maduro, Trump announced that the US would assume control of Venezuela to tap into the South American nation’s vast oil reserves. This move is quite a familiar geo-political pattern as oil has been a strategic resource in international conflicts. From World War II (1939-1945) to Gulf War (1990-91), oil was a recurring factor for all the geo-political conflicts. The US intervention in Venezuela appears to follow the same script.
The attraction is obvious and it is the 303 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves - nearly one-fifth of the world’s proven reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). This places Venezuela well ahead of Saudi Arabia with oil reserves of 267 billion, Iran 209 billion, Iraq 145 billion, the UAE 113 billion, Kuwait 102 billion, and so on and so forth.
