The shadowy reality of Trump’s hidden aspiration

In the wake of the U.S. incursion into Venezuela to capture the country’s then-president Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump made it no secret that oil extraction was part of his intention. The United States, he claimed, would “run” the Venezuelan oil industry, and that within 18 months, “Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil,” and that "This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!" But while it is true that oil exports from the country have reached a 7-year high, according to a new report from the New York Times, the revitalizing industry is shrouded in secrecy, raising serious questions about who is benefiting from the country’s oil wealth.

Under Maduro, Venezuela’s oil industry was famously corrupt. The “omnipresent state oil company, known as PDVSA, had become his family’s personal estate, allowing relatives and cronies to sell oil at highly preferential terms. The patronage greased the wheels of the ruling apparatus, ensuring its loyalty to Mr. Maduro, who survived multiple crises before being captured in January by U.S. Special Forces. The opaque oil trading schemes continued right up to Mr. Maduro’s fall, and some beneficiaries have kept quietly doing business with PDVSA” now that he’s been replaced by Venezuela’s new leader, Delcy Rodriguez, who has received the personal backing of Trump.

When Rodriguez was placed in power, “Trump said the United States would control Venezuelan oil sales. Venezuela would submit monthly budgets to the White House, the Trump administration said, and the United States said it hired auditors to check receipts,” while Rodríguez “said the public could trace every oil dollar on a new website.”

“None of these initiatives, however,” writes the New York Times, “have thus far shed light on where Venezuela’s oil money has been going.”

During Maduro’s leadership, an ally named Carlos Malpica Flores was known for managing the then-president’s family wealth, much of which was derived from oil corruption. But while Maduro’s removal resulted in Malpica’s loss of direct access to crude sales, Venezuelan officials report that he is still profiting from PDVSA, whereas other oil tycoons with ties to Maduro have been detained or ostracized. It has been suggested that Malpica has so far survived the new government purge due to his friendship with Rodriguez.

Meanwhile, the oil accountability website Roriguez launched, called Transparent Sovereignty, shows only a single entry since she assumed control of the country, claiming a $300 million sale in March to an undisclosed buyer. This clashes with reports, however, that the country sold at least $500 million as far back as February.

“Venezuela’s government did not respond to requests for comment,” noted the New York Times. “The Trump administration declined to comment publicly.”