Venezuela recently became the target of a “large-scale” attack by the United States on Saturday that led to the capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro – whom the Trump administration has labeled a narco-terrorist.
Where is Venezuela and why did the US attack it? Here’s everything you need to know about Venezuela.
1. Where is Venezuela?
Venezuela is a country in South America. Its capital is Caracas. Venezuela has an area of 12,050 km2, according to information shared by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Venezuela has an estimated population of 31,250,306 in 2024.
The country borders the Caribbean Sea to the north, the Guyana Cooperative and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Federative Republic of Brazil to the south, and the Republic of Colombia to the west.
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The area is rich in oil, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower and diamonds. According to the BBC, Venezuela has some of the largest proven oil reserves in the world, as well as significant amounts of coal, iron ore, bauxite and gold.
2. Who rules Venezuela?
President Nicolas Maduro Moros was the president of Venezuela from 2013 until he was captured and taken out of the country on Saturday, January 3, 2026.
Maduro was declared the winner of the July 2024 presidential election, which the opposition said was highly rigged.
3. How rich is Venezuela
Venezuela’s real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is around US$4,900 (2023 estimate), according to a CIA fact sheet.
Poverty levels are said to be very high in rural areas of Venezuela. According to IFAD, Venezuela is the second poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Almost 56 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations said in a report.
4. But Venezuela is rich in…
Venezuela is highly dependent on oil revenue, which account for approximately 30 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The USA is one of Venezuela’s leading export partners. Up to 50% of Venezuelan exports go to the US. The main items exported by Venezuela include crude oil, petroleum coke, iron scrap, alcohols and fertilizers.
Venezuela imports the most, around 35% of its imports, from China. Venezuela imports refined oil, soybean meal, corn, plastic products and vehicle parts/accessories.
5. Why is Trump attacking Venezuela?
The US has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of “narco-terrorism”.
A few hours after the US launched “major” strikes in VenezuelaUS Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the “successful capture mission” of two “alleged international narcotics traffickers” — Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
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“Nicolas Maduro was charged with narco-terrorist conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States,” Pondi wrote on X.
In addition, after the bombing of Venezuela and the kidnapping of Maduro, Trump declared that the US “runs” Venezuela and would use its huge oil reserves. “We will sell a lot of oil to other countries,” he said.
The president said the US occupation “won’t cost a cent” as the country would be reimbursed with “money coming from the country,” Sky News reported.
But according to the New York Times, a more plausible explanation for the attacks on Venezuela may be linked to Trump’s recently released National Security Strategy. It claimed the right to dominate Latin America.
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“After years of neglect, the United States will reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere,” the document reads, according to the NYT.
6. What is the oil situation in Venezuela?
Venezuela’s reserves are made up mostly of heavy oil in the Orinoco in central Venezuela, making it expensive but technically relatively simple to mine, according to the US government’s Department of Energy.
The Orinoco Belt traditionally accounts for almost two-thirds of the country’s total production.
Venezuela holds about 17 percent of the world’s oil reserves – equivalent to 303 billion barrels, Sky News and The Guardian reported, citing the Energy Institute.
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Meanwhile, CBS News reported that Venezuela’s reserves are on top of second-ranked Saudi Arabia’s 267 billion barrels and more than six times that of the US.
Most of Venezuela’s untapped oil is located in an area known as the Orinoco Belt, a roughly 21,000-square-mile area that stretches across the country’s northeastern region.
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On January 1, 2026, Bloomberg reported that oil production in the Orinoco belt fell to 498,131 barrels per day on December 29, down 25% from two weeks earlier, as US forces in the Caribbean curb exports and the threat of land strikes put pressure on Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
The report added that PDVSA, as the company is known, has started shutting down oil wells in some fields because it is running out of storage space and cannot export fast enough.
According to reports, the US was once the main buyer of Venezuela’s oil – but since the imposition of sanctions, China has become the main destination.
