After Maduro's Removal, the U.S. Faces Its Hardest Test Yet in Venezuela

"As President Trump has said, the U.S. intends to run Venezuela. I'm still waiting for how the U.S. government intends to define 'running Venezuela'. I'm going to assume, and I hate to assume, but I'll assume that the goal will be to work closely with the current Venezuelan government to transition to a democracy and allow elections, something like that. So that will just be my assumption in lieu of any comments or any guidelines coming out of the White House."

"It's a very diverse country. It's an incredibly rich resource country. People talk about the oil and the petroleum, but it's not only that. It could be one of the largest gold producers in the world. It's amazing the amount of natural resources that Venezuela has, yet 25 years after President Chávez was elected as president, it's one of the poorest countries in Latin America."

"I think one of the hurdles that they're going to have is the brain drain. You don't have a strong cadre. A great example is Pedevesa, [Petróleos de Venezuela],the state run oil company. Back in the 90's, Pedevesa was considered one of the most efficient and best run oil companies in the world. Compared to even the private companies, it was a machine because they owned everything from downstream to upstream."

David Fitzgerald is a 37-year CIA veteran who retired in 2021 after serving as Chief of Station in a Middle Eastern country that hosted the agency's largest field station. He served seven times as Chief of Station across conflict zones in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and South Asia, and held senior headquarters roles including Latin America Chief of Operations and Deputy Division Chief. He served as senior DCIA representative at U.S. Central Command from 2017–2020, advising the commander on intelligence and participating in tier-1 operations. He assesses that U.S. intentions toward Venezuela may involve guiding a transition to democracy, notes Venezuela's vast natural resources alongside severe economic decline since Chávez, and warns that brain drain and a weakened state oil company (Petróleos de Venezuela) will complicate recovery.

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