Trump compares Iraq and Venezuela: US will keep Venezuelan oil
Shafaq News– Washington
US President Donald Trump said the United States plans to retain control of Venezuela’s oil and rebuild the country’s energy infrastructure, drawing a direct comparison with Iraq, according to remarks he made during a conversation with MS NOW host Joe Scarborough.
Scarborough disclosed the details on Tuesday after speaking with Trump following recent US military strikes in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, saying he pressed the president on Washington’s plans for governing the country and parallels with the US-led invasion of Iraq.
According to Scarborough, Trump rejected comparisons with Iraq’s post-2003 occupation, arguing that control over oil resources marked the key difference. Scarborough quoted the president as saying, “Joe, the difference between Iraq and this is that Bush didn’t keep the oil. We’re going to keep the oil.”
He said that Trump later took the remarks off background and reiterated a long-standing position, quoting him 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.”
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, according to OPEC, with an estimated 303.8 billion barrels, representing about 19.4 percent of global reserves.
