Trump’s Big Move In Venezuela About to Pay Off Big Time

While much attention is focused on the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil passes, significant energy developments are taking place further south—in Venezuela. There, the U.S. captured former president and dictator Nicolás Maduro in January as part of Operation Absolute Resolve. Maduro is currently in a prison cell in Brooklyn, New York, awaiting trial on charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. Trump has long sought to access Venezuela’s vast resources and has been frustrated by the missed opportunities in doing so: Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves. Under Venezuela’s former president Nicholas Maduro oil exports had dropped significantly, due to a lack of investment. Then came US sanctions against any imports from the Latin American country.