Trump Reveals He Gave US Oil Companies a Heads Up ‘Before and After’ Maduro Raid

Reporter: Did you speak with the oil companies before the operation? Did you tip them off?

Trump: Before and after. They want to go in and they’re going to do a great job. pic.twitter.com/zxOG648Ww0

— Acyn (@Acyn) January 5, 2026

President Donald Trump revealed that American oil companies were informed in advance of the U.S. military raid in Venezuela that led to the capture of the country’s president.

The raid on Saturday saw Nicolás Maduro and his wife arrested and brought to the U.S. in a Delta Force operation. Venezuela has since recognized Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, as acting president

On Sunday, reporters aboard Air Force One pressed Trump on the future governance of the country and whether he would push for elections that would give opposition leaders a chance to “return.”

“We haven’t gotten to that. Right now, what we want to do is fix up the oil, fix up the country, bring the country back, and then have elections,” Trump replied, adding later: “We need total access. We need access to oil and to other things in their country that will allow us to rebuild their country.”

When asked by another reporter about whether he “tipped” off major oil companies “before the operation took place,” Trump replied: “Yeah.”

He continued: “Before and after. They want to go in and they’re going to do a great job for the people of Venezuela and they’re going to represent us.”

Outlining the role of the private firms, he said: “We are going to have to have big investments by the oil companies to bring back the infrastructure.”

He added: “The oil companies are ready to go, they are going to build back the infrastructure.”

Maduro is due to appear in a New York courtroom at 12 p.m. ET, facing multiple drug trafficking charges.