I maintain, it was *not* a coincidence that Trump the Conqueror seized Venezuela's oil reserves, before starting the war with Iran.

To believe that you would also have to believe that Trump is capable of making strategic decisions and following through with a plan, which seems terribly unlikely based on history.

But more to the point, while Venezuela has slightly increased production, it is barely a drop in the world market. In 2023 it was producing about 750,000 bbls daily. 2024: 800,000. 2025: 900,000. So far in 2026 it fluctuates between 950,000 and 1.1m. The infrastructure is so degraded and it has been mismanaged for so long it would take serious investment and time to significantly improve that production.

By contrast, the world daily production is between 85 million and 105 million bbl, so you’re looking at an increase of one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) in daily stocks of oil. Someday Venezuela could be a big enough producer to influence things, it sits atop some of the largest proven reserves on the planet - but for now, pfft.