When U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January 2026, headlines focused on the country's massive oil reserves—reportedly 303 billion barrels, the largest in the world. But as we dig deeper into the technical realities of Venezuela's extra-heavy crude, the crumbling infrastructure, and the geopolitical chess match unfolding in our hemisphere, a different story emerges. While Energy Secretary Chris Wright told oil executives that Venezuela could increase production by just 300,000 barrels per day in the near term—barely a blip in global markets of 106 million barrels daily—China has been building satellite ground stations, selling military hardware, and using debt-for-oil arrangements to gain a strategic foothold in America's backyard. This episode reveals why the Venezuela intervention may have far less to do with oil production and far more to do with countering Chinese influence, pressuring Canada in upcoming trade negotiations, and controlling a critical piece of Western Hemisphere infrastructure that was slipping into Beijing's orbit.
Links to the articles and resources mentioned in this episode can be found at mineralrightspodcast.com.
