Trump's Venezuela oil windfall: Billions earned, little returned

Donald Trump boasted that the US made "a lot of money" from Venezuelan oil, claiming to have recouped intervention costs many times over. However, independent reports suggest a different story.

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We made a lot of money from this. We paid back the costs of intervention in Venezuela 28 times. It took us 48 minutes to win this war, thanks to which we brought in millions of barrels of oil.

Economists estimate the US earned $8 billion from Venezuelan oil this year, with Venezuela receiving "meager pennies" in return. "Since the United States took over our country's wealth, it is obliged to help," says José Manuel Puente, a leading Venezuelan economist. He points to the insufficient US aid following a devastating earthquake that killed at least 5,200 people and damaged thousands of buildings, estimating reconstruction costs at $10 to $20 billion.

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From my calculations, America has earned $8 billion from Venezuelan oil since the beginning of the year. What Venezuela received in return is meager pennies. And yet, since the United States took over our country's wealth, it is obliged to help.

Reports indicate that the first $500 million earned by the US from Venezuelan oil went to accounts in Qatar. While a US State Department official claimed $3 billion in oil revenues were transferred to Caracas, guaranteed by KPMG, Democratic representatives in the House of Representatives have not received further information. They believe the truth may only emerge if the Democratic Party regains a majority in the House.

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The reconstruction costs after this cataclysm will be between $10 and $20 billion. America has provided little for this purpose. American soldiers have also appeared. But this is not the scale of support that such an empire as America can launch.