The U.S. Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, stated on Monday that President Donald Trump is "incredibly popular" among Venezuelans, during an event at the White House with oil executives where the expansion of U.S. investment in Venezuela was discussed.
Wright, invited to the podium by Trump to present Venezuela as a success story of accelerated reconstruction, described the country as “a nation of 30 million people going in the wrong direction for 25 years” and asserted that “the bold leadership of this president changed the country's trajectory, changing the future for all those people.”
"American companies are rushing to invest in that country," Wright added. "After 25 years of trying everything and going in the wrong direction, their bold leadership and creative thinking have changed the game."
In the same event, Trump recalled that the military operation in Venezuela lasted "exactly 48 minutes" and described the bilateral relationship as "almost a partnership," highlighting that "hundreds of millions of barrels of oil are leaving Venezuela" to be refined in various locations.
The statements come four months after the Operation Absolute Resolution on January 3, 2026, in which U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in Caracas. Following the capture, Delcy Rodríguez assumed the interim presidency of Venezuela according to the Venezuelan Constitution.
The popularity of Trump among Venezuelans is supported by surveys. According to a poll by The Economist conducted by Premise in January 2026, Trump emerged as the most popular political figure in Venezuela, surpassing Marco Rubio, María Corina Machado, and Edmundo González Urrutia.
Trump himself has repeatedly invoked that popularity. In March 2026, he joked about running for the Venezuelan presidency and in April he stated, "I lead the polls more than anyone in the history of Venezuela."
Wright had already visited Venezuela between February 11 and 13 of this year, being the highest-ranking U.S. official to do so since Maduro's capture, and signed a long-term energy agreement with Rodríguez. Within that framework, the U.S. closely monitors oil investment in the country, with Chevron, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips leading the way.
Venezuela agreed that the U.S. would refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of heavy crude indefinitely. Chevron tripled its exports of Venezuelan crude, from 100,000 barrels per day in December 2025 to 300,000 in March 2026.
On April 30, Trump announced investments pledged by U.S. companies exceeding 1.4 billion dollars in Venezuela, with projections for oil production growth of 30-40% in the first year. On the same day, American Airlines resumed direct flights between Miami and Caracas after nearly seven years of suspension.
Trump summarized the situation in March: “I am the person with the most support in the polls. After the presidency, I could go to Venezuela and run against Delcy. They like me in Venezuela.”
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