Not On This Planet

As an American, I am outraged that my government is stealing resources that belong to the Venezuelan people, and embarrassed that an American president would actually brag publicly about such imperial behavior. Hope this policy will change in 2029. https://t.co/WtTdYDl81P

— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) August 6, 2026

Nope.

OPEC data from secondary sources shows Venezuela pumped just over one million barrels per day during June 2026. This represents an impressive 17.6% increase over 2025, although it is less than half of the 2.1 million barrels lifted for the same month a decade earlier. Indeed, the collapse of Venezuela's once mighty petroleum sector didn't begin in earnest until late 2018 as lower oil prices and then stricter U.S. sanctions hit the country's oil industry hard.

Permian Basin oil production is 6.6 million bpd.

To reach a production of 1 billion barrels, Venezuela would have to match June 2026 production for 1000 months, or about 3 years.

Trump is an innumerate fabulist who has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about. On any subject.