Claim:
U.S. President Donald Trump said Venezuela stole “oil, land and other assets” from the U.S.
Rating:
Context
Trump seemed to refer to the Venezuelan government’s decision in 2007 to seize the assets of U.S. oil companies, as well as those of Norwegian and French companies. Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves.
In December 2025, a rumor began to spread that U.S. President Donald Trump said Venezuela stole “oil, land and other assets” from the U.S.
For example, a post on Facebook (archived) shared the claim, asking jokingly whether Venezuela had taken “part of Florida”:
The claim also appeared on Threads, with an image that purported to show a Truth Social post by Trump saying these words. In addition, Snopes readers searched the website for more context.
Those words were correctly attributed to Trump. In a Dec. 16, 2025, post (archived) on Truth Social, the president said the South American country had stolen oil, land and other assets from the U.S. He added his administration had deemed the Venezuelan government a foreign terrorist organization and he announced a “A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela”:
(Truth Social user @realDonaldTrump)
The post read:
Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us. The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping. For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela. The Illegal Aliens and Criminals that the Maduro Regime has sent into the United States during the weak and inept Biden Administration, are being returned to Venezuela at a rapid pace. America will not allow Criminals, Terrorists, or other Countries, to rob, threaten, or harm our Nation and, likewise, will not allow a Hostile Regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States, IMMEDIATELY. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
DONALD J. TRUMP
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
History between Venezuela, U.S. oil companies
When Trump claimed Venezuela had stolen oil, land and assets from the U.S., he seemed to refer to 2007, when the regime of then-President Hugo Chávez ordered the seizure of oil fields and other assets that belonged to U.S. oil companies ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips, Norway’s Statoil and France’s Total. In doing so, Chávez was completing a process that had started in 1976, when then-President Carlos Andrés Pérez began to nationalize the Venezuela’s oil industry. Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves, which have long attracted foreign investment and interest.
While Chevron struck a deal with the Venezuelan government, ExxonMobil’s and ConocoPhillips’ operations and assets moved to state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA.
ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips then spent years in legal battles with Venezuela’s government for compensation. The World Bank’s International Centre Settlement of Investment Disputes, an international arbitration tribunal, awarded ExxonMobil $1.6 billion in 2014 and ConocoPhillips nearly $9 billion in 2019. Venezuela’s dispute with ExxonMobil was ongoing as of 2025, and an attempt by Venezuela to annul the $9 billion award to ConocoPhillips failed in January 2025 when the tribunal upheld the 2019 decision, and the country had yet to pay.
After Trump took office in January 2025, he ordered a military buildup around Venezuela. U.S. military forces also have been striking boats coming out of Venezuela, alleging, without providing evidence, that the boats belonged to “narco-terrorists,” leading to claims the U.S. may have committed war crimes.
