The US and Venezuela: a century-old relationship drenched in oil

<p>A visual look at how Washington’s relationship with Caracas has gone from cordial to ‘predatory’</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/02/venezuela-oil-deal-trump-chris-wright">Trump ally defends Venezuela oil deal amid ‘gunpoint diplomacy’ criticism</a></p></li></ul><p>Written in the middle of the last century, the US Department of State memo conveys its message in a curt and undiplomatically honest tone: the glue that binds Washington to Caracas is, and is always likely to be, oil.</p><p>“All US policies toward Venezuela are affected in greater or less degree by the objective of assuring an adequate supply of petroleum for the US,” <a href="https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1950v02/d527">the 1950 document</a> reads.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/03/us-venezuela-visual-look-century-old-relationship-drenched-in-oil">Continue reading...</a>