President Donald Trump addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, NY, September 23, 2025. REUTERS/MIKE SEGAR
Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling cautioned that President Donald Trump appears to have publicly confessed to a crime.
Speaking to The Bulwark for the "Command Post" podcast, Hertling and host Ben Parker addressed Trump's speech to the United Nations, which the latter said would make them "bash our heads against the wall."
At one point in his speech, Trump bragged that if Venezuela and the U.S. are combined, "we have more than 60 percent of the oil in the world. So, it's perhaps the biggest deal — it was a war — it was perhaps the biggest deal ever made. To the victor belong the spoils. You've all heard that."
"So, just to be clear, it was a war," said Parker, citing Trump again. "He just said it was a war. In how many different ways did he just admit to an international crime?"
Hertling began by clarifying there were "several," but he wanted to speak specifically about the two countries holding 60 percent of the oil.
"I mean, we may hold close to — between the two countries — they may have the potential for 60 percent of the oil in the Western Hemisphere, but not the world," said Hertling. "And plus, we also have to, kind of, suggest that those 65 billion barrels of oil that the president keeps talking about are in Venezuelan reserves that involve a 100-year concession for 17 oil fields. All of that stuff is underground, and there aren't a whole lot of oil companies rushing to the breach to say we want to pull that out of the ground."
Indeed, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier in September that "big oil" companies are "wary" of getting involved in the Venezuelan oil patch. Producing it often requires costly specialized equipment and the country’s oil infrastructure has deteriorated after years of U.S. sanctions. Venezuela also has a long history of changing terms, expropriating assets, and political instability, so companies are concerned they could invest billions and then lose control of projects or be unable to move and sell the oil, The U.S. Energy and Information Administration explained.
"But Ben, I think you want to get to the to the victors go the spoils comment," Hertling said. "That is a war crime."
He cited the 1907 Hague regulations, which say specifically, "pillage is prohibited," in Article 33.
"Occupation of a nation does not simply make the conqueror owner of occupied property," Hertling read. "In the 1945 UN Charter, the international system is reorganized around sovereign equality, territorial integrity, and restrictions on the use of force. The 1949 Geneva Convention, pillage is prohibited in four different articles. The 1962 UN Resolution, people in nations possess permanent sovereignty over their national resources. The 1998 Rome Statute, pillage is expressly identified as a war crime repeatedly. In 2005, there was an International Court of Justice decisionon Congo v. Uganda, that a state is held internationally responsible for its armed forces' looting, plundering, and exploitation of another country's natural resources, and people went to jail for that."
He explained that it all boils down to the legality of the ownership of Venezuelan oil management and that it "cannot be determined from Trump's rhetoric."
"The Venezuelan government, unless they sign deals with providing oil for price, [it] cannot be pillaged or looted. Victory does not create a legal entitlement to another nation's oil," Hertling said.
Parker noted, "It's several war crimes, and he just admitted it and he said we did it. And, ugh, God, I don't know, we're going to be talking about this for a long time."
Hertling exclaimed, "But — and here's the important part, Parker. The good news is he admitted it at the UN! I mean this wasn't just a press conference from his office. This was from the U.N.! It wasn't a secret tape someone has to get their hands on."