Does the US have any real claim on Venezuelan oil as Stephen Miller says?

United States Homeland Security Advisor and adjacent Trump adjutant Stephen Miller suggested connected Wednesday that Venezuela’s lipid “belongs to Washington”.

Miller’s comments came a time aft US President Donald Trump posted connected societal media that helium is imposing a “total and implicit blockade” of sanctioned lipid tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

The US has amassed the largest subject force successful the portion successful decades, conscionable disconnected the seashore of Venezuela, and has carried retired aggregate strikes connected boats it claims are trafficking drugs, sidesplitting astir 90 radical since September. However, the Trump medication has provided nary grounds of cause trafficking, prompting claims that it is much funny successful controlling lipid successful the portion and forcing authorities change successful Venezuela.

Here is simply a person look astatine what Miller said and whether Washington could truly laic assertion to Venezuela’s oil.

What did Miller say?

In a station connected X connected Wednesday, Miller wrote: “American sweat, ingenuity and toil created the lipid manufacture successful Venezuela. Its tyrannical expropriation was the largest recorded theft of American wealthiness and property.”

He added: “These pillaged assets were past utilized to money coercion and flood our streets with killers, mercenaries and drugs.”

Miller besides shared a screenshot of a Truth Social station from Trump connected Tuesday, successful which helium accused Venezuela of “stealing” US oil, onshore and different assets, and utilizing that lipid to money crime, coercion and quality trafficking.

In the post, Trump declared Venezuela’s authorities a “foreign violent organisation” and ordered a total blockade of each sanctioned lipid tankers going successful oregon retired of the country.

Trump added that migrants sent by Venezuela are being deported rapidly and demanded that each “stolen assets” beryllium returned to the US immediately.

Stephen Miller speaks to reporters extracurricular the White House successful Washington, DC, connected October 24, 2025 [Kylie Cooper/Reuters]

How overmuch lipid does Venezuela have?

Today, Venezuela’s lipid reserves are concentrated chiefly successful the Orinoco Belt, a immense portion successful the eastbound portion of the state stretching crossed astir 55,000 quadrate kilometres (21,235sq miles).

While the state is location to the world’s largest proven lipid reserves – astatine an estimated 303 cardinal barrels (Bbbl) arsenic of 2023 – it earns only a fraction of the gross it erstwhile did from exporting crude.

According to information from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), Venezuela exported conscionable $4.05bn worthy of crude lipid successful 2023. This is acold beneath different large exporters, including Saudi Arabia ($181bn), the US ($125bn), and Russia ($122bn).

(Al Jazeera)

Why does the US judge it has a assertion to Venezuelan oil?

US companies began drilling for lipid successful Venezuela successful the aboriginal 1900s.

In 1922, immense petroleum reserves were initially discovered by Royal Dutch Shell successful Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo, successful Zulia state, northwestern Venezuela.

At this point, the US ramped up its concern successful the extraction and improvement of Venezuelan lipid reserves. Companies specified arsenic Standard Oil led improvement nether concession agreements, propelling Venezuela to a presumption arsenic a cardinal planetary supplier, particularly for the US.

Venezuela was a founding subordinate of OPEC, joining astatine its instauration connected September 14, 1960. OPEC is simply a radical of large oil-exporting countries that enactment unneurotic to negociate proviso and power planetary lipid prices.

That began to upwind up erstwhile Venezuela nationalised its lipid manufacture successful 1976 nether then-President Carlos Andres Perez amid the lipid boom. He established the state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) to power each lipid resources.

Venezuela continued to beryllium a large lipid exporter to the US for immoderate years, supplying 1.5 – 2 cardinal barrels per time (bpd) successful the precocious 1990s and aboriginal 2000s. But aft Hugo Chavez took bureau successful 1998, helium nationalised each lipid assets, seized foreign-owned assets, restructured PDVSA and prioritised governmental goals implicit exports, starring to declining accumulation alongside mismanagement and underinvestment.

When did the US enforce sanctions connected Venezuela?

The US archetypal imposed sanctions connected Venezuelan lipid successful retaliation for nationalising lipid assets successful 2005.

Under US sanctions, named individuals and companies are barred from accessing immoderate spot oregon fiscal assets held successful the US. They cannot entree US slope accounts, merchantability their property, oregon entree their wealth if it passes done the US fiscal system.

Any US companies oregon citizens doing concern with immoderate sanctioned idiosyncratic oregon institution volition beryllium penalised and hazard becoming taxable to enforcement actions.

The sanctions widen beyond the individuals connected the list. Any entity that is owned 50 percent oregon more, straight oregon indirectly, by 1 oregon much of the blocked radical is besides sanctioned arsenic well, adjacent if that institution isn’t explicitly named.

Under President Nicolas Maduro, the US imposed much sanctions successful 2017 and tightened them again successful 2019. This further restricted income to the US and entree for Venezuelan companies to planetary finance. As a result, lipid exports to the US astir stopped, and Venezuela shifted its commercialized chiefly to China, with immoderate income to India and Cuba.

Last week, the Trump medication imposed yet much sanctions – this clip connected Maduro household members and connected Venezuelan tankers carrying sanctioned oil.

Today, PDVSA controls the petroleum manufacture successful Venezuela, and US engagement successful Venezuelan lipid drilling is limited. Houston-based Chevron is the lone US institution that inactive operates successful Venezuela.

Trump has repeatedly voiced his tendency for the US to regain power of Venezuela’s oil.

A commercialized instrumentality vessel sails connected Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, wherever lipid was discovered successful 1922 [Jose Bula Urrutia/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images]

Is determination immoderate ineligible ground to US claims connected Venezuelan oil?

No. International instrumentality is wide that sovereign states ain the earthy resources wrong their territories nether the rule of Permanent Sovereignty implicit Natural Resources (PSNR).

This means that sovereign states person the inherent close to control, usage and dispose of their resources for their ain development.

The conception of PSNR emerged aft 1945 during the decolonisation of erstwhile European colonies. It was solidified by the United Nations General Assembly successful a solution adopted successful December 1962.

Under this law, therefore, Venezuela owns its oil. It would beryllium amerciable nether planetary instrumentality for the US to laic assertion to it.

Why does Chevron proceed to run there?

Foreign lipid companies are not permitted to ain lipid fields outright successful Venezuela, truthful US lipid radical Chevron pays PDVSA a percent of its output nether a associated operation, which accounts for astir one-fifth of Venezuela’s authoritative lipid production.

This setup allows PDVSA to gain revenues from lipid without straight selling to US buyers, which sanctions restrict, giving Venezuela an inducement to proceed allowing Chevron to operate.

To get astir US restrictions, Chevron was granted a peculiar licence by US President Joe Biden successful 2022 to run extracurricular US sanctions. The Trump medication extended the steadfast different waiver this year.

Chevron accrued shipments of Venezuelan lipid from 128,000bpd successful October this twelvemonth to 150,000bpd past month.

Chevron has been operating successful Venezuela for decades and has billions of dollars successful assets determination successful the signifier of lipid fields, facilities and infrastructure. If it were to retreat from Venezuela, it would tally a precocious hazard of losing those assets forever, arsenic Venezuela could prehend them.

In the past, the Chavez and Maduro administrations person seized backstage assets erstwhile hundreds of companies were nationalised, including parts of overseas companies specified arsenic Exxon, Cargill and Hilton.