TEHRAN — The smoke from the January 3 airstrikes on Caracas has barely dissipated, but the strategic landscape of the American aggression against Venezuela has already undergone a chilling transformation.
What was marketed to the world as a “targeted law enforcement action” to uproot a “narco-regime” has revealed itself as what critics call a classic imperial resource grab.
Following the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration has moved with predatory speed to secure the nation’s vast oil reserves, effectively treating the country as a colonial prize.
The pivot toward open plunder was finalized via a series of Truth Social posts from late January 6 to January 7.
Donald Trump discarded the rhetoric of human rights, demanding that the interim authorities in Caracas immediately surrender between 30 and 50 million barrels of crude oil.
“This Oil will be sold at its Market Price,” Trump declared, adding the unprecedented caveat that the resulting billions would be “controlled by me, as President of the United States.”
This demand for personal oversight of a foreign nation’s sovereign wealth has left many reeling, signaling a new era of unvarnished American aggression.
For critics and legal scholars, this development is the “smoking gun” that confirms the narcotics charges against the Maduro government were merely a tactical ruse.
International law expert Elspeth Dominguez-Redondo noted that the administration’s immediate focus on oil makes it “abundantly clear the narcotics pretext was entirely baseless—a flimsy cover for naked imperial resource theft.”
Historians are already drawing parallels to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, though noting that Trump has bypassed the traditional diplomatic “reconstruction” narrative in favor of a direct demand for the spoils of war.
Trump compares his recent military misadventure to the Iraq war as well, albeit from a different point of view: “The difference between Iraq and Venezuela is that Bush didn't keep the oil – we’re going to keep it,” he told MS Now.
The atmosphere in Caracas remains suffocating. On January 6, following Maduro’s removal, the Supreme Court swore in Delcy Rodríguez as interim president.
In a televised address on January 7, Rodríguez denounced the invasion as “terrible military aggression” and declared a week of mourning for the dozens of security personnel killed in the initial U.S. strikes.
She continued: “The government of Venezuela rules in our country—no one else.”
Meanwhile, Washington’s pressure campaign is intensifying.
Reports indicate that Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has been issued a direct “cooperate or die” ultimatum.
U.S. officials have signaled that if Cabello does not facilitate the “orderly” transfer of energy assets, he will be “targeted” next.
This intimidation occurs as U.S. naval blockades have already begun intercepting tankers bound for China, rerouting Venezuelan wealth toward American refineries under the direction of Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
“The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said after the U.S. announced “apprehending” two tankers on January 7: M/T Sophia and Marinera (formerly Bella-1).
The global backlash has been palpable. Colombia has reinforced its borders, fearing a complete regional collapse.
Mexico has condemned the strikes, calling them a violation of sovereignty and recalling past U.S. interventions in Latin America.
Meanwhile, the international community is watching as a nation’s sovereignty is systematically dismantled in pursuit of “black gold.”
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