U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited Venezuela and met with interim President Delcy Rodriguez as the country moves forward with plans to expand overseas oil investment in the region.
Wednesday’s meeting marked the first time a member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet has visited Venezuela.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Overall, it was a rare visit by a senior U.S. official to the South American country, given the fractious relationship between the U.S. government and Venezuela’s socialist government.
But Wright sounded optimistic during a press conference with Rodriguez, broadcast on Venezuelan state television.
“It is an honor to stand here with you today and to be a part of the great people of Venezuela,” Wright said.
He also acknowledged that tensions between the two countries have existed for decades.
But Wright hinted at changes under the Trump administration. He also said the president intends to take a hemisphere-wide approach to his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
“Our countries share a long history, and like any relationship, we have gone through various chapters,” Wright said.
“But I bring you a message today from President Trump, who is passionate about absolutely transforming the U.S.-Venezuela relationship as part of a broader agenda to make the Americas great again.”
A new era of expansion
President Trump has repeatedly articulated his vision for a new era of “Manifest Destiny,” a 19th-century principle defending American expansionism.
He has already quipped about the introduction of the Donroe Doctrine, his version of the Monroe Doctrine, a 19th-century foreign policy platform that placed the entire Western Hemisphere in the United States’ sphere of influence.
Part of that push was to bring countries across the Americas into line with U.S. policy through economic pressure, diplomatic efforts, and military action.
An example of the latter occurred on January 3, when President Trump authorized an early morning military operation to attack Venezuela and kidnap then-leader Nicolas Maduro.
The Venezuelan leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, were then transferred to New York by military plane. They are scheduled to go on trial on drug trafficking charges in March.
In his first remarks after the military operation, President Trump asserted that the United States would “run” Venezuela.
He has since recognized interim leadership from Maduro’s former vice president, Rodríguez, but has threatened to launch a “second wave” of military action if she does not meet his demands.
Claiming Venezuelan Oil
President Trump has also made a sweeping case against Venezuela’s oil industry.
In his first speech after the military operation, President Trump reiterated his claim that the country’s oil resources belong to the United States, as a result of early oil exploration by companies such as Exxon Mobil.
President Trump has claimed that efforts to nationalize Venezuela’s oil industry amount to the “greatest theft of property in the history” of the United States.
“Venezuela has unilaterally seized and sold American oil, American assets, and American platforms, costing us billions of dollars,” President Trump said. “They took all our property. It was our property. We built it.”
He stressed that his country, not Venezuela, should control local oil reserves, although international law says otherwise.
Multiple international resolutions and conventions outline that states have permanent sovereignty over their natural resources.
“We built Venezuela’s oil industry with American talent, ambition, and skill, and the socialist regime stole it from us during previous administrations,” President Trump said on January 3.
Since then, President Trump has announced that Venezuela has handed over approximately 50 million barrels of oil to the United States. President Trump explained that the oil will be sold at market price for the benefit of both the United States and Venezuela.
“Those funds will be controlled by me as President of the United States,” Trump wrote online.
He also indicated that he had ordered Mr Wright to carry out the planned sale.
President overreach?
But President Trump has faced backlash for his aggressive approach to Venezuelan oil. Critics point out that the U.S. Constitution gives authority to control funds to Congress, not the president.
Then, as Republican Rep. Thomas Massie pointed out last month, there’s also the question of whether this oil was legally obtained from Venezuela in the first place.
“Selling stolen oil and depositing billions of dollars in Qatari banks to spend without parliamentary approval is unconstitutional,” he said on social media.
“Only Congress can appropriate funds. The president cannot legally create a second Treasury overseas for his own piggy bank.”
The criticism continued Wednesday. During Wright’s visit to the Rodriguez administration, Senate Democrats introduced the Venezuelan Oil Revenue Transparency Act, which aims to force a bipartisan audit of recent oil revenues.
One of the bill’s sponsors, Adam Schiff of California, criticized President Trump’s obsession with Venezuelan oil and questioned his motives for attacking Venezuela and its surrounding waters.
“For months, the Trump administration has maintained that the military operation in the Caribbean was aimed at drug interdiction, but its purpose is now abundantly clear: It was to seize Venezuelan oil and line the pockets of the oil industry,” Schiff said in a statement.
Chuck Schumer, the bill’s co-sponsor and the top House Democrat, echoed Schiff’s call for greater transparency.
“The American people have a right to know what is happening with the money they receive from Venezuelan oil payments, and where that money is going and to whom,” Schumer said.
bright meeting
But the controversy in the United States did not dampen Wright’s upbeat meeting with Rodriguez.
Wright’s visit was his first to Venezuela. Under the Maduro administration, President Trump sent special envoy Richard Grenell to the country in January 2025 to negotiate the release of U.S. prisoners.
But negotiations between Grenell and Maduro ended in October as the Trump administration increased pressure on the Venezuelan government.
The US State Department sent a mission to Caracas as the two countries work to restore diplomatic relations since Maduro’s ouster. The United States has indicated it intends to soon reopen its embassy in Venezuela, which has been closed since 2019.
But no senior U.S. official like Wright has visited the country in years.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez has been leading efforts to comply with President Trump’s demands. On January 29, she signed a reform bill that allows for expanded privatization of Venezuela’s nationalized oil industry.
On Wednesday, she and Wright appeared together on the steps of the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas to announce the outline of their talks.
Wright promised that Venezuela would “drastically increase Venezuelan oil production” and boost the use of other energy resources. He also pledged that “our partnership with the United States will bring trade, peace, prosperity, jobs, and opportunity to the Venezuelan people.”
“These are not just words or ambitions,” he added. “We already have very concrete plans and very concrete actions.”
