Since the elections of President Hugo Chavez in 1998 and Nicolás Maduro Moros in 2013, Venezuela has had complicated relations with the US.
Since Trump’s invasion on January 3rd, 2026 and fighting is still taking place today. The month-long incursion has led to over fifty deaths, including 24 Venezuelan officers. However, that isn’t even the biggest effect of the war, as a staggering 8 million Venezuelan civilians have left the country due to the war. In a country whose population only numbers to about 28 million in 2023, almost ⅓ of all living in the country have escaped to either Colombia, Peru or Brazil, amongst others.
The U.S. explanation and reasoning for the sudden invasion is complicated. Capturing the President and his wife, Cilia Flores on charges of Narcoterrorism (drug dealers influencing and using the government for their gain). As Scott Anderson of Brookings explains, “The executive branch maintains that the president has the constitutional authority to use military force without congressional authorization, so long as it supports U.S. interests and is not expected to result in “‘prolonged and substantial military engagements'" (Anderson). They also hold intentions to create a brand new democratic government, where they will hold Venezuela for a transition into a new government under the American sphere of influence. Though it does follow the constitutional rights laid out by the Founding Fathers, it has sparked widespread global outrage, with people claiming that Venezuelan sovereignty was violated in this ordeal.
One of the reasons that this outrage is taking place is the belief that the U.S. only invaded the country to take advantage of the expansive oil reserves that have largely been missing from American imports since the 2000s. Global Witness backs up this claim as well, providing a quick, to the point explanation, “In a word: oil. Venezuela has the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, with an estimated 303 billion barrels lying in the ground – making up around a fifth of all proven crude reserves in the world”(Noronha-Gant). All of this oil is not being exported to the U.S., and the monopoly of oil needs no explanation.
In summary, the U.S. government officially only holds a policy to arrest Maduro, while experts and critics claim that influences include Economic Interests, such as Oil.
TPS, or temporary protected status, is provided for people in the middle of conflicts, so there are some benefits for Venezuelan migrants. However, the Trump administration has begun revoking some of these rights, with the benefits that migrants used to be awarded being significantly less than what was given before. A lot of Venezuelans, amounting to about 790,000 at least, have found their way to America, only to be met with even more oppression than originally in their home nation, at the hands of ICE. In an article by the news outlet, Mother Jones, tells a depressing and true story of a Venezuelan family, as, “They traveled thousands of miles on the most treacherous migration path in the world to seek asylum in the US, but following the legal pathways didn’t matter amid Trump’s anti-immigrant crackdown. Jose, one of the primary providers for the extended family, was taken by ICE”(Foster). So, it’s safe to say that even though there are technically systems for these migrants to have a quick, seamless transition, reality does in fact not back this up.
In total, the US is highly hostile and is forcing thousands of Venezuelans out of their home country, creating a very complicated and overall depressing crisis. This combines to create an atmosphere where citizens are confused as to what they are to do or where they are to go.
Works Cited
Uscri. (2026, January 23). Venezuela in exile: refugee stories. USCRI. https://refugees.org/venezuela-in-exile-refugee-stories/
Why the US attacked Venezuela: Oil, sanctions and Maduro. (2026, January 13). Global Witness. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/why-the-us-attacked-venezuela-oil-sanctions-and-maduro/
Foster, K. (n.d.). They fled Venezuela to escape a regime of fear, only to relive it in Trump’s America. Mother Jones. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/venezuela-immigrant-ice-abduction-terror-maduro-trump/