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Howard Lutnick Says Nicolás Maduro Didn't 'Unlock' Prosperity, Trump Will 'Fix' The Broken Venezuelan Economy And 'Rebuild' The Country

Benzinga · 4d ago

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick outlined a vision for Venezuela’s recovery under President Donald Trump, saying that the nation’s massive natural wealth was squandered under Nicolás Maduro, who was apprehended by American forces over the weekend.

Trump Will ‘Fix’ And ‘Rebuild’ Venezuela

On Monday, in a post on X, Lutnick said, “Venezuela was once a great, rich and dynamic country,” while pointing to its vast endowment of natural resources.

This includes its “enormous reserves of oil and natural gas,” along with “hundreds of millions of tonnes of nickel and bauxite” and “thousands of tonnes of gold,” much of which, he said, is concentrated in “the Orinoco Mining Arc, one of the largest mineral and mining regions in the hemisphere.”

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Lutnick framed the nation’s economic decline over the years as a result of mismanagement by Maduro and his administration.

“Maduro didn't unlock prosperity. He destroyed it,” Lutnick said, adding that the Latin American leader “crushed his people while stealing their money, resources and heritage.”

Trump, on the other hand, “will fix the broken Venezuelan economy and rebuild the country,” he said, adding that a “strong, exporting Venezuelan economy is great for America,” as well as for the entire Western Hemisphere.

US Oil Companies To Invest Billions In Venezuela

Trump announced last week that U.S. oil companies are preparing to invest billions of dollars to boost the Latin American nations’ oil output, which is currently significantly below its peak output in the 1990s, at 800,000 barrels per day, despite holding the world’s largest proven reserves at 303 billion barrels.

Executives at the largest U.S. energy companies have, however, denied holding meetings with the administration, either before or after Maduro’s ouster last week.

Despite its massive reserves, Venezuela’s oil is predominantly extra-heavy crude, which is harder to extract and more expensive to process.

The state-run oil company, PDVSA, has suffered from decades of mismanagement and underinvestment, leading to dilapidated infrastructure, all of which could pose problems for the administration’s plans in the country.

Trump Slammed For Maduro’s Capture

Prominent U.S. political leaders slammed Trump’s actions in Venezuela, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) saying, “The President of the United States does NOT have the right to unilaterally take this country to war.”

Sanders also said that Trump should focus on the “crises at home,” instead of trying to “run” Venezuela for “Big Oil.”

Even Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a former Trump ally, criticized the military action on the South American nation, calling it a betrayal of the “America First” agenda that got Trump elected.

“This is the same Washington playbook that we are so sick and tired of that doesn’t serve the American people, that actually serves the big corporations, the banks, and the oil executives,” Greene said.

The United States Oil Fund LP (NYSE:USO), which tracks the daily price movements of crude oil, was up 1.83% on Monday, closing at $70.22 and is down 0.36% overnight. The fund scores poorly on Momentum in Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, with an unfavorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms. Click here for deeper insights.

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