The fight to seize Venezuela's 'black gold': Trump's oil-stealing spree creates a storm in world politics

The arrest and deportation of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife to the United States after a successful military operation in Venezuela has sparked a storm of criticism and condemnation around the world. When the international community was at its height, US President Donald Trump made a surprising announcement. He said that from now on, Venezuela's state power and the country's vast oil reserves would be under the full control of the United States. After this announcement, the question arose - why is Washington so interested in Venezuelan oil despite having the world's largest oil reserves?

According to the US Energy Information Administration, Venezuela has about 303 billion barrels of oil reserves underground, which is about one-fifth of the world's total oil resources. Although the United States' own oil reserves are also significant, most of them are 'sweet crude' or light quality oil, which is mainly suitable for producing gasoline. In contrast, Venezuelan oil is very heavy and dense. By refining this oil, it is possible to produce high-quality diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, and fuel suitable for use in heavy industries—on which the American industry and transportation sectors are heavily dependent.

Venezuela is also strategically important to the United States from a geographical perspective. Since this South American country is relatively close to the United States, transportation costs are much lower than importing oil from Middle Eastern countries. This makes it possible to keep the US energy supply more affordable and stable. In addition, the Trump administration's move is based on a far-reaching strategy to control the global energy market.

Currently, Venezuela produces about one million barrels of oil per day, which is only 0.8 percent of the world's supply. However, if the United States is able to modernize the country's oil fields and increase production, Washington's influence on both oil prices and supply in the international market will increase manifold. Analysts believe that this will further strengthen the US position in global energy politics.

According to experts, although allegations of human rights violations or drug trafficking were brought forward behind the overthrow of the Maduro government, the main driving force behind it was Venezuela's "black gold". By ensuring control of this huge resource, the United States, on the one hand, strengthened its influence in Latin America, while on the other hand, it weakened the position of its rivals in oil politics, Russia and China. There is now a fear that this geopolitical struggle over Venezuelan oil will create greater instability in world politics in the coming days.