US President Donald Trump has frequently boasted about the substantial sums the United States has taken from Venezuela, stating on Air Force One, "We're taking in a lot of money — billions and billions of dollars from Venezuela."

Since the US military's capture of then-leader Nicolás Maduro in a bold operation in January 2026, major decisions regarding Venezuela's future have been heavily influenced or directly made from Washington DC. This has led some experts to describe Venezuela as a US "protectorate in all but name."

A complex and opaque system of money movement has been established by the US. Recent reports indicate that over $13 billion USD ($18.6 billion AUD) has been collected from Venezuelan oil sales, though Trump has suggested the amount could be even higher. In return, the US transfers a fraction of these oil revenues back to the Venezuelan government.

The Trump administration has shown no questioning of the political legitimacy of the Delcy Rodriguez government, with decision-making reportedly concentrated in Senator Marco Rubio's office in the White House. The New York Times has reported that Rubio regularly communicates with Rodriguez via WhatsApp, influencing and directing Venezuela's day-to-day operations.

US-backed political talks exclude key opposition figures such as Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia, the widely recognized winner of the 2024 election who currently lives in exile in Spain.

According to the Central Bank of Venezuela, the first quarter of 2026 saw the slowest economic growth rate in the country in five years.

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