Post-Maduro Venezuela is at a crossroads. On the one hand, they have sworn in Delcy Rodríguez as "interim president," which is not a good thing; Delcy Rodríguez is a Maduro creature, and if anything, she might be even more capable and less, well, nuts than the deposed dictator, who is now an involuntary guest of the United States of America. On the other hand, with Maduro deposed, there is the possibility for Venezuelan oil to start flowing again, which could be a major boost to Venezuela's economy.
As of Wednesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright has gone on the record: Venezuelan oil will resume flowing, but only to the United States.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday the United States government wants to get Venezuelan oil flowing again, directly control Venezuelan oil sales and revenue via U.S.-controlled accounts, and create conditions for U.S. oil companies to enter the country.
Such moves will benefit Venezuela's people as well, Wright said Wednesday.
Oil sales will be "done by the U.S. government and deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S. government," he said.
"Then from there, those funds can flow back into Venezuela to benefit the Venezuelan people, but we need to have that leverage and that control of those oil sales to drive the changes that simply must happen in Venezuela."
Venezuela's domestic oil production was nationalized in 1976, and it reached its peak in 2008; however, the country still holds some of the largest reserves in the world. Secretary Wright notes that involving American oil companies with newer technology for recovery and distribution may give Venezuela's oil industry a boost.
Wright said he was speaking to U.S. oil companies to learn what conditions would enable them to enter the South American country and added that he wanted to sell Venezuelan oil to U.S. refineries.
"We're going to market the crude coming out of Venezuela, first this backed-up, stored oil, and then indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace," Wright said.
That will, presumably, be a good thing for the people of Venezuela. Still, there's a problem that has to be fixed to ensure it will be - and to make it practical for any American companies to go in and start retooling Venezuela's oil and gas sector. Namely: The last vestiges of Maduro's regime have to go.
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As noted, former vice president Delcy Rodríguez has claimed the top chair. But the old rule of the fruit of the poison tree applies; the Maduro regime was illegitimate, and has been since they arguably lost the 2024 election and remained in power anyway. Maduro's ouster doesn't change that. With that said, the United States does have a few levers available to do what needs doing here.
First, make any American aid in standing Venezuela's oil industry up again conditional on what there is of the Venezuelan government does to arrange free and open elections, as soon as that can be managed. These elections should be monitored, but not only by the United States; we have a vested interest, so election monitors from disinterested nations should be included. Italy's PM Meloni may be open to persuasion here.
Second - and yes, this may raise some eyebrows - encourage the new government to issue a general amnesty to anyone who served in the Maduro regime, with the exception that the amnesty does not include any crimes involving drugs or human trafficking. It wouldn't be the worst idea to bar them from seeking national office again - but that's up to any new Venezuelan government.
It is, as we've covered here amply, a new day in Venezuela. But the country needs to turn the page; Maduro loyalists can't remain in power, or sooner or later, things will just go back to the way they were. The exclusive American purchase of Venezuelan oil gives us a big, shiny lever to pull, and it also sticks a thumb in the eyes of Russia, Cuba, and China into the bargain. That's always worth doing, every day and twice on Sunday.
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