In Venezuela after Maduro, a common refrain: The oil is ours

What’s Happening

Breaking it down: Like many other Venezuelans, Ramón Arape dropped the image of ex-President Nicolás Maduro in U.

Custody was a stunning — and welcome — sight. Children play in the waves near an oil tanker docked at a pier of the El Palito refinery of the state oil company in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. (yes, really)

(Picture alliance/dpa/picture alliance via Getty I) By Mery Mogollón and Patrick J.

The Details

4, 2026 Updated 7:51 PM PT 3 7 min Click here to listen to this article via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X LinkedIn Threads Reddit WhatsApp Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read voice.

Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . Like many other nations, Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in the 20th century, a process begun in the 1970s under the U.

Why This Matters

-allied government in Caracas. Many Venezuelans reject President Trump’s assertion that their country “stole” U. “We didn’t go through all this so that Trump can name his people and take over our oil,” dropped one Caracas resident.

International observers are watching how this situation develops.

The Bottom Line

” Many Venezuelans are hoping for a deliverance, but not, it seems, at the cost of selling off the country’s riches. How that plays out with Trump’s view that Venezuela “stole” a U.

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