Trump’s Venezuela Invasion Is All About Enriching Big Oil
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For months, President Donald Trump has claimed that the escalating aggressions in the Western Hemisphere were about fighting drug trafficking. But the evidence points to a much more familiar motive: serving the interests of Big Oil donors.
Trump reportedly tipped offoil companies about the attack on Venezuela and the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, even before notifying Congress. He has since threatened further military action if the United States does not gain the oil access he wants. At a time when tens of millions of Americans are struggling with skyrocketing health care costs, the administration’s priorities are clearly elsewhere.
This escalation also carries dangerous global consequences. Already, Trump has raised the specter of similar interventions in Colombia, Cuba, and Greenland. Further, an illegal military operation to seize resources gives countries like China and Russia a green light to attack their neighbors for similar reasons. Rather than strengthening global stability, Trump’s approach risks pushing rogue nations closer together and making the world more dangerous.
The invasion in Venezuela shows Trump is willing to use the U.S. military to enrich his friends and allies. Trump promised to keep the United States out of new wars. Instead, he is reviving a failed playbook of military interventionism, one that historically leads to long-term instability and high costs to the American taxpayer.
Polling makes clear this is not what Americans want. They want lower costs, real security, and foreign policy that serves the public interest, not billionaires and oil companies.
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Trump’s invasion in Venezuela is part of a broader pattern of abuse of power as he continues to cash in on the presidency.
As Trump’s second term nears its one-year mark, he and his family have already pocketed more than $1.8 billion in profits since January 2025. These gains are not incidental; they are the result of Trump holding public office, and we are tracking how that power is being used for personal gain.
Trump’s Take, our live tracker, documents the financial benefits flowing to Donald Trump and his family while he holds public office. The tracker exposes a growing network of payments, gifts, business opportunities, and preferential arrangements that have emerged since his return to power—including three new cryptocurrency ventures created just before and immediately after his reelection.
Moments like this demand clear-eyed analysis and real accountability. At the Center for American Progress, we’re exposing corruption, challenging abuses of power, and advancing solutions that put people—not billionaires—first.
Your support makes this work possible. Stand with us as we continue to track this administration’s actions and fight for a more just, secure, and democratic future.
