A Dangerous Precedent
It is said that a broken (analog) clock is correct twice a day. Similarly, occasionally Trump gets something right, even if by accident. In the case of his recent claim that oil fields in Venezuela were stolen and belong to the United States, he is partially right.
When he announced the naval blockade of Venezuela, Trump proclaimed the military pressure will continue “Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.’” Trump is correct that the oil fields were stolen. However, they were not stolen from “us.” They were stolen from oil companies.
On January 1, 1976, Venezuela officially nationalized the oil industry within the country. Ownership of the assets owned by all oil companies operating in the country was transferred to Venezuelan owned companies, which were controlled by the national government. Private property was seized by the Venezuelan government.
It would be moral and just for Trump to demand the stolen property be returned to its rightful owners, but that is not what he demands. He wants that property to be ceded to the United States government, which has never owned that property. Indeed, a British company—Shell Oil—was one of the primary victims of Venezuela’s nationalization. What Trump is proposing is to replace Venezuelan nationalization with American nationalization.
Trump’s partial truth is only a part of the story. To those who are ignorant of history, his actions will appear plausible. To those who don’t think in principles, his actions will appear to be an act of justice. But Trump is not motivated by justice. He is motivated by his insatiable desire to gain more control over the economy.
When law enforcement officials recover stolen property, they return it to its rightful owner. Trump proposes to recover stolen property and add it to his personal fiefdom.
Venezuela is not the only country to steal the property of oil companies. Nor was it the first. Mexico was the first to nationalize the oil industry, and it was soon followed by Saudi Arabia, Iran, and many other countries. If Trump is successful in Venezuela, he will have established a precedent to justify similar actions around the world.