U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he believes it would be better for Venezuela to remain a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), while adding that he was uncertain whether such an arrangement would serve American interests, underscoring the growing complexity of U.S. involvement in the South American nation’s oil sector.
Speaking in an interview with Reuters, Trump said Venezuela’s continued participation in the oil cartel could make sense from Caracas’s perspective, even as Washington weighs how deeper U.S. influence over Venezuelan oil policy might interact with global supply management. “Well, I think it’s better for them if they do it,” Trump said when asked if his administration supported Venezuela remaining in OPEC. “I don’t know that it’s better for us … but they are a member of OPEC, and we haven’t discussed that with them at all,” he added.
Venezuela is a founding member of OPEC and sits atop some of the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves. However, its oil output has collapsed over the past decade due to years of underinvestment, mismanagement, economic crisis and U.S.-led sanctions. Production that once exceeded 3 million barrels per day has dwindled to a fraction of that level, severely constraining state revenues and deepening the country’s economic turmoil.
Trump’s comments come against the backdrop of a dramatic escalation in U.S. policy toward Venezuela. Earlier this month, the United States carried out an operation that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, with Trump declaring that Washington would exercise control over Venezuela’s oil resources as part of a broader effort to rebuild the industry and pressure the country’s governing structures. The administration has said U.S. oversight of the oil sector would be needed for an extended period to restore output and stabilize revenues.
Pressed during the interview on whether Venezuela, under U.S.-influenced oil management, would be expected to comply with OPEC production limits, Trump said the issue was premature. “I don’t have to worry about it right now, because, you know, I have nothing to do with OPEC,” he said, distancing himself from the cartel’s internal decision-making even as Washington moves to shape Venezuela’s energy future.
OPEC groups together major oil-producing nations to coordinate supply policy with the aim of stabilizing global energy markets. The cartel typically cuts output when prices are weak and increases production when demand rises, seeking to avoid extreme volatility. While decisions are taken collectively, Saudi Arabia — the world’s largest oil exporter — is widely regarded as OPEC’s de facto leader because of its unmatched spare production capacity and ability to move markets by adjusting output.
U.S. control of Venezuela’s oil sector, combined with potential large-scale investment to lift production, could put Caracas on a collision course with other OPEC members. If Washington pushes to rapidly ramp up Venezuelan output to maximize revenues or boost global supply, that strategy could clash with OPEC efforts to restrain production to support prices. White House aides and outside advisers told Reuters that Venezuela’s OPEC membership has not yet been a subject of internal debate, but acknowledged it could emerge as a flashpoint.
Such tensions would not be unprecedented within the cartel. Several OPEC members that are eager to expand production have long complained that output quotas limit their ability to fully exploit reserves or meet pressing domestic fiscal needs. Countries such as Iraq, Nigeria and Angola have in the past expressed frustration that production caps prevent them from responding flexibly to budget pressures or rising demand.
As the United States charts an unprecedented role in shaping Venezuela’s oil industry, questions about how that involvement will intersect with OPEC’s collective strategy are likely to grow. For now, Trump’s remarks suggest Washington is keeping its options open, even as the future of one of the world’s most resource-rich oil producers remains deeply uncertain.
