Howard Lutnick, U.S. Commerce Secretary, outlined a comprehensive vision for Venezuela’s economic recovery, marking a sharp contrast between the country's past under Nicolás Maduro and the promise of revitalization under former President Donald Trump. This vision centers on leveraging Venezuela's vast natural resource wealth, which Lutnick described as both “massive” and currently underexploited due to years of economic mismanagement and political turmoil.
Lutnick emphasized Venezuela’s historical standing as a prosperous nation, referring to it as once being "great, rich and dynamic". The country is richly endowed with natural resources, including extensive reserves of oil and natural gas, alongside significant mineral holdings such as nickel, bauxite, and gold. These mineral assets are notably concentrated in the Orinoco Mining Arc, which Lutnick identified as "one of the largest mineral and mining regions in the hemisphere," underscoring Venezuela’s considerable potential to contribute substantially to global resource supplies.
The economic decline Venezuela has endured over recent decades, according to Lutnick, is largely attributable to Maduro’s administration. He asserted, "Maduro didn't unlock prosperity. He destroyed it," highlighting allegations of mismanagement, which led not only to economic deterioration but also to the depletion of national wealth. Lutnick condemned Maduro’s leadership for allegedly oppressing Venezuelan citizens while siphoning off their resources and heritage, painting a picture of a country suffering deeply under the former regime.
In contrast, Lutnick articulated a hopeful outlook, supported by assertions that President Trump is positioned to "fix the broken Venezuelan economy and rebuild the country." The restoration of Venezuela’s exporting capacity would, in Lutnick's view, benefit the United States as well as the broader Western Hemisphere by stabilizing regional markets and reinforcing economic ties.
Recently, Trump announced plans for U.S. oil companies to inject billions into Venezuela’s energy sector, aiming to boost oil production that currently hovers well below historical peaks. Although Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves at approximately 303 billion barrels, its current output lingers near 800,000 barrels per day, far from the levels observed in the 1990s. However, senior executives from major U.S. energy firms have publicly denied any meetings with the administration regarding the situation, complicating narratives about impending investments.
Venezuela’s oil sector presents particular challenges. The majority of its reserves consist of extra-heavy crude, a resource type characterized by higher extraction and processing costs. The state-owned oil company PDVSA has been plagued by decades of underinvestment and poor management, leading to dilapidated infrastructure that could impede swift operational ramp-up under new initiatives.
The U.S. military apprehended Nicolás Maduro over the past weekend as part of broader maneuvers associated with this shift in Venezuela’s political landscape. This action elicited swift and strong criticism from U.S. political figures across the spectrum. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) explicitly condemned the unilateral military intervention, emphasizing that "the President of the United States does NOT have the right to unilaterally take this country to war," and advocating for prioritization of domestic issues over foreign endeavours ostensibly benefiting "Big Oil."
Similarly, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), despite formerly aligning closely with Trump, rebuked the military operation. Greene labeled the intervention a betrayal of the "America First" agenda on which Trump’s electoral success was partly founded. She criticized the strategy as perpetuating a Washington establishment gapingly serving "big corporations, the banks, and the oil executives," rather than the American populace.
Meanwhile, financial markets reflect nuanced reactions to these developments. The United States Oil Fund LP (NYSE:USO), which tracks crude oil prices, reported a 1.83% increase on Monday, reaching $70.22 per share, although it experienced a marginal decline of 0.36% overnight. Analysis from Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicates that USO scores poorly on Momentum metrics, exhibiting unfavorable price trends across short, medium, and long-term horizons, signaling investor caution amid geopolitical uncertainty.
These varying viewpoints and complex market dynamics underscore the multifaceted challenges facing Venezuela as it enters a new phase. The interplay between untapped natural wealth, political upheaval, infrastructure hurdles, and international scrutiny will shape the country’s prospects for an economic turnaround under new leadership.