President Trump is rejecting comparisons between his capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, saying the U.S. plans to keep the oil from the South American nation.
Mr. Trump made the comments to MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, who recounted his conversation on-air early Tuesday.
“The difference between Iraq and this is that [Mr. Bush] didn’t keep the oil. We’re going to keep the oil,” Mr. Scarborough quoted Mr. Trump as saying.
“In 2016, I said we should have kept the oil. It caused a lot of controversy. Well, we should have kept the oil,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Scarborough.
Venezuela is home to the world’s largest known crude oil reserves.
Mr. Trump late Sunday said he spoke to oil companies before and after the military operation.
“They want to go in,” Mr. Trump said, “and they’re going to do a great job for the people of Venezuela.”
Mr. Trump authorized a military raid on Saturday that seized Mr. Maduro and his wife from their palace in Caracas and brought them to New York to face a U.S. indictment on “narco-terrorism” charges.
Mr. Maduro pleaded not guilty on Monday in Manhattan and said he was kidnapped by the U.S.
The hard question is what comes next.
Mr. Trump says the U.S. will keep close tabs on the newly installed leader, Delcy Rodriguez, and work to rebuild the oil infrastructure in Venezuela.
His focus on oil will fuel skepticism about U.S. motives. Many Venezuelans cheered the ouster of Mr. Maduro, who is viewed in the West as an illegitimate leader, while others denounced American interference as an ugly throwback to an imperialist era.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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