Why the US Wants a Stake in Venezuela’s Oil

While Venezuela isn’t the powerhouse oil producer it used to be, the country nonetheless has some of the world’s largest oil reserves. Since the US seized then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, the US has restored diplomatic ties and is working with interim President Delcy Rodríguez’s government in Caracas. But that relationship is highly conditional: US President Donald Trump has described Venezuela as the 51st state and said the US will “rebuild” the country’s underproducing oil i