type: timeline_event
Trump convened more than a dozen oil and gas executives at the White House East Room to pitch $100 billion in investments to develop Venezuela's oil industry, less than a week after U.S. forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Attendees included executives from Chevron, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Continental Resources, Halliburton, Shell, Marathon, Valero, and others, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods delivered a blunt assessment: "It's uninvestible." Woods explained that "looking at the legal and commercial constructs—frameworks—in place today in Venezuela, today it's uninvestable," adding that "significant changes have to be made to those commercial frameworks, the legal system, there has to be durable investment protections, and there has to be a change to the hydrocarbon laws in the country." Even major Trump donor Harold Hamm signaled he would need far more assurances before backing the administration's reinvestment scheme.
Trump emerged from the meeting without any major investment commitments. Three days later, Trump threatened to sideline Exxon from Venezuela entirely, telling reporters aboard Air Force One: "I didn't like Exxon's response. I'd probably be inclined to keep Exxon out." He accused the company of "playing too cute." The exchange illustrated the tension between Trump's transactional approach to foreign policy and corporate executives' need for stable legal frameworks.