Trump’s ‘we had a lot of oil there’ video resurfaces after US action in Venezuela

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump announced Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were "captured and flown out of the country" early Saturday, December 3, morning amid a "large-scale strike" by the US.  

Amid this military action, an old video of Trump began circulating widely. The resurfaced footage features a statement from Trump about oil in Venezuela, drawing fresh attention to the timing of the strikes and the long-standing tensions between the two countries.

Airstrikes were carried out on multiple targets in Venezuela, including the capital city of Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira, leading Venezuela to declare a national emergency.

Trump’s viral video on getting 'oil rights' back from Venezuela

In a resurfaced video from December 18, 2025, Trump was seen saying, “Getting land, oil rights, whatever we had, they took it away because we had a president that maybe wasn't watching, but they're not going to do that, we want it back."

Trump claimed, "They took our oil rights, we had a lot of oil there, as you know they threw our companies out, and we want it back."

This clip was originally recorded when Trump was speaking to the media prior to boarding Air Force One and has gone viral again in the context of the latest strikes on Venezuela.

In a press conference on Saturday, following Maduro’s capture, the US said it would "run" Venezuela on a temporary basis during the transition and "get the oil flowing."

More than once during his press conference, Trump highlighted Venezuela's oil. "In terms of other countries that want oil, we're in the oil business," the president told reporters.

He further said, "We're going to sell it to them. We're not going to say we're not going to give it to them. In other words, we'll be selling oil, probably in much larger doses, because they couldn't produce very much because their infrastructure was so bad."

Trump claimed, "We'll be selling large amounts of oil to other countries — many of whom are using it now — but I would say many more will come." 

Trump's action against Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela announced a state of national emergency and denounced the "military aggression," with the country's vice president saying Maduro is its only leader.

Trump’s administration mounted the campaign against Venezuela, accusing the Venezuelan government of destabilizing activities, including mass d**g trafficking and illegal immigration to the US.

Trump said the Venezuelan people will benefit from oil sales but so will the US. Trump further said, "We're designating various people. It's largely going to be — for a period of time — the people who are standing right behind me." 

Trump then pointed at Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, and Gen Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "We're going to be running it, we're going to be bringing it back." 

Previously, Maduro has vehemently denied being a cartel leader and has accused the US of using its "war on d**gs" as an excuse to try to depose him and get its hands on Venezuela's vast oil reserves.

The South American country has approximately 303 billion barrels worth of crude, accounting for about 20% of the world's oil resources, according to the US Energy Information Administration.