Oil is simply a policy axis?

Nicolas Maduro's government in Venezuela was discontinued by the US./Source: Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0), photograph by Jeso Carneiro

Today, the dominance of 1 state over another seldom means direct annexation or permanent military presence. Its main tools were the control of the flow of natural materials, sanctions and legal regimes. The rhetoric of moral superiority serves to legitimize interference in the interior affairs of another states. Venezuela's case is part of this mechanism, and it is at stake to decide how to access and operate its resources.

"We will regulation Venezuela until peaceful transformation," said Donald Trump after the events of early 2026, which one more time raised the question of the limits of sovereignty and intervention in the global system. The United States, citing the fight against crime, applied economical force and conducted a peculiar forces operation which resulted in president Nicolas Maduro and his wife being detained and transported to fresh York City. They are to be held accountable to the court for moving an global drug cartel and terrorism financed by profits from oil sales. These actions have sparked serious political and legal controversy, peculiarly in the context of global law and the function of energy natural materials in Venezuela.

Card house

Venezuela is simply a natural material state where oil accounts for about 96% of its export income; despite the world's largest reserves (about 300 billion barrels), its marketplace importance is limited due to the dominance of dense and extra dense oil. Production fell from around 3 million barrels a day to little than 1 million, or little than 1% of global supply. The United States plans to refine and sale up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil, allowing long historical cooperation between the 2 countries before the Bolivian Revolution and the U.S. refinery capabilities. Previously Venezuela had bought lighter oil from the US and utilized it to mix with itss for sale and transportation. Following US sanctions, Venezuela was forced to import it from Iran.

To realize the current situation in Venezuela, Hugo Chávez's regulation is crucial, which, following the failed 1992 coup, took power in 1999, initiating the Bolivian revolution. The task "Socialism of the 21st century" was based on redistribution of oil revenue, advanced taxation of elites, nationalisation of key economical sectors and the improvement of social rights. According to the Guardian data, poorness has fallen and GDP per capita has increased more than twice during a period of advanced commodity prices, but this model has proved to be unstable. Fiscal state failure, erosion of liberal institutions, corruption in PDVSA's state petrochemical tycoon, infrastructure negligence and sanctions led to a collapse of the oil sector and a deep socio-economic crisis. alternatively of the foundation of sovereignty and development, oil has become a origin of structural dependence.

Following Chávez's death, Nicolas Maduro, not recognized by part of the global community as a consequence of multiple electoral falsifications, took power. His regulation coincided with a violent collapse of the economy, hyperinflation, shortages of essential goods, and increased repression by reinforced Western sanctions. The crisis, the persecution of the opposition, the panic of services against the opposition and society, the brutal suppression of protests, led to the emigration of about 8 million people. Prior to the 2024 election, the candidacy of opposition leader Marina Corina Machado was blocked, and protests following Maduro's announcement of triumph were brutally suppressed. The fall in oil prices, on which the economy with no abroad reserves was dependent, revealed structural state failure.

Doubtful Blessing

The force on Venezuela began in October 2025 erstwhile Trump authorized the CIA to covert operations in Venezuela and threatened with attacks against “drug-terrorists”. He besides introduced a "total naval blockade" of all tankers sanctioned and the US deployed crucial military forces in the Caribbean. Oil, representing more than 95% of the country's exports, has become a tool of force and leverage in global negotiations. Trump besides signed a regulation that treats funds from the sale of Venezuelan oil in U.S. accounts as sovereign property of Venezuela, without claims from another entities. However, it is hard to talk of real sovereignty erstwhile the external power controls the natural materials and determines what the funds from their sales may be spent on. And oil becomes a tool for both economical force and a symbolic component of political control.

The arrest of the president did not provoke mass protests in the country; his capture was celebrated mainly by Venezuelans on emigration. In Venezuela itself, there were both manifestations of opponents of U.S. intervention and those satisfied with Maduro's dismissal, although even they saw Washington's actions as a threat to sovereignty. The global responses were critical: six countries, including Spain, Brazil and Mexico, condemned the "dangerous precedent of an attack on another country" and the announced control of oil production, stressing that "no sustainable solution to the political crisis can be imposed from outside by force." China has identified US actions as "a dangerous violation of global law". The UN Secretary-General besides expressed his concern, informing against creating a precedent for the usage of force against a sovereign state without the approval of the United Nations, and the European Union stressed that "any solutions must be in line with the UN Charter and global law".

Black gold

The importance of oil goes far beyond economics. It affects global relations, the creation of energy alliances and provokes conflicts. States are fighting for control of resources due to the fact that it gives them an advantage in global politics. Examples specified as Iraq's attack on Kuwait or the conflicts in Sudan and Nigeria show that having natural materials can be as strategical and sometimes more crucial than political power itself. In 1960, OPEC was formed, bringing together the largest oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Venezuela, to coordinate oil policy and stabilise prices on planet markets. Regional alliances, specified as the countries of South-East Europe, are besides being created to integrate the marketplace and guarantee energy safety in the region. Oil control allows countries to prosecute political interests without resorting to open armed conflict. Mechanisms specified as embargoes, export restrictions or price manipulations are a form of "energy blackmail" that produces effects at both economical and diplomatic levels. specified actions affect the architecture of energy safety of another countries, which are forced to diversify sources of supply and to minimise the hazard of political dependence, as is the case with Poland in its relations with Russia. The way oil is utilized as an instrument of global policy shows that strategical natural materials can become both a bargaining chip and a tool of force in a global game of influence.

U.S. intervention in Venezuela can only be preluded for further actions of an armed or economical nature. The Trump administration straight points to the countries against which it claims, including Colombia and Cuba, which Trump considers to be a "falling state", and strategically located Greenland, crucial to the safety of the United States. The announcements show the motive for leading global decision-making processes and controlling natural resources, which can make a dangerous precedent for interference in the sovereignty of states. The next months will most likely be a period of demonstration of force, redefining influences in both Americas and Europe and investigating the consequence of the global community to violations of global law.

Emilia KRUKOWSKA