Donald Trump has confirmed what many Washington insiders suspected, but few expected him to say openly. He admitted that he told U.S. oil companies before and after the U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Notably, he did this before lawmakers in Congress were informed.
In comments to reporters on Air Force One, Trump made it clear he didn’t think it was strange to inform executives from the country’s largest energy firms prior to what some have called one of the most daring U.S. foreign actions in decades. The operation involved elite U.S. forces seizing Maduro in Caracas and bringing him to New York to face federal charges. This marked an extraordinary point in American foreign policy, with oil now at the center of the fallout.
Trump mentioned that major U.S. oil companies were keen to invest in Venezuela’s vast but declining petroleum infrastructure, which was once managed by Caracas and now holds some of the largest untapped reserves on Earth. According to Trump, those companies were briefed about the upcoming plan before the U.S. executed it and again after it began.
“We will have our large U.S. oil companies go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, and start making money,” Trump said in an earlier statement that raised eyebrows.
American energy stocks reacted quickly once the news spread. Shares of Chevron, the only major U.S. oil company still operating in Venezuela under a special waiver, surged, and refiners and oilfield service companies also saw gains as markets opened.
Reporter: Did you speak with the oil companies before the operation? Did you tip them off?
Trump: Before and after. They want to go in and they’re going to do a great job. pic.twitter.com/zxOG648Ww0
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 5, 2026
This represents a significant shift toward the private sector at a time when the United States has effectively gained temporary control of one of the world’s richest oil fields. Trump’s comments and the market responses suggest that investors see not just a plan for rebuilding but also a potential financial windfall.
What Trump did not detail publicly was how information about the plan reached corporate boardrooms while Congress members were largely left in the dark until after the operation was completed. Reports from various outlets indicate that lawmakers were only informed of the events after the mission ended, a situation that has shocked Capitol Hill and raised immediate concerns about oversight and the involvement of private companies in national security matters.
The president defended the invasion, noting that Maduro was designated a narco-terrorist for many years and was justified in bringing him in on criminal charges, including drug trafficking and corruption allegations.
Once Maduro was in U.S. custody, Trump made it clear that controlling the nation for a unspecified period of time was the next step.. He stated that the United States would handle Venezuela until a transition could be made, with oil being a crucial part of that effort. “We will get the oil flowing,” he told reporters in widely reported comments.
Reactions to the operation have been strong across Latin America and Western nations. Some governments criticized the intervention as a clear breach of international standards, while acknowledging that Maduro had to go. Most Western allies shied away from calling out Trump for invading another nation.
Venezuelan officials loyal to Maduro have called for his release and accused the U.S of going after its vast oil resources. Conversely, opposition leaders in Venezuela welcomed Maduro’s removal. The U.S has made it clear that it will control Venezuela with military coercion and other nations such as Cuba may be next.
