All Oil, Little Security in Venezuela
Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing and Jerry Wu / National Security Daily: Politico
(September 3, 2026) — The Trump administration is touting its oil deals in Venezuela as it seeks to prove the usefulness of the military operation to oust former Venezuelan leader NICOLÁS MADURO. But the White House has yet to address how the safety of personnel and infrastructure necessary for these projects would be ensured.
The security situation on the ground in the country is far from ideal. The State Department’s official recommendation for U.S. citizens is to “reconsider travel” to Venezuela for a variety of reasons including “risk of crime, kidnapping, terrorism.”
When President DONALD TRUMP first pitched investment in Venezuela to oil companies back in January, he assured firms that they would be guaranteed “total safety, total security” — without the involvement of U.S. troops. Companies would bring their own protection, supplementing security provided by the Venezuelan government, he said at the time.
That’s not likely to be a long-term solution to the numerous security threats in the country, according to security practitioners in the country. Or even a short-term one.
Traditional in-house security, and even contract security companies (of which there are many already on the ground), likely won’t be sufficient, trained or resourced to respond to the complex threat landscape in Venezuela, argued BRYAN STERN, founder of Grey Bull Rescue, which conducts rescue operations in dangerous places around the world. Stern, who is intimately familiar with the security situation in Venezuela, planned and led the operation to extract Venezuelan opposition leader MARÍA CORINA MACHADO from the country last December.
Threats range from petty crime to cartels to foreign actors like Russia and China. They also include the Venezuelan government itself. Interim leader DELCY RODRÍGUEZ, with whom the Trump administration has been working closely since Maduro’s ouster, was part of her predecessor’s regime and many in Washington — including several Republican lawmakers — argue still operates like a dictator and cannot be trusted to keep any promises she makes to the White House or to oil companies.
For now, the Trump administration has Rodriguez doing its bidding in Caracas. That’s likely the strongest security assurance companies will have, as Rodriguez effectively acts as a bulwark for oil firms against bad actors in the country.
Security may not be the main concern for companies looking to set up shop in Venezuela right now — given the range of uncertainties they’re facing.
DAVID GOLDWYN, head of international energy advisory firm Goldwyn Global Strategies and former State Department special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs, told NatSec Daily that security likely “isn’t a top 5 concern for oil companies,” who are more worried about longer-term investment security than the on-the-ground threat environment.
But, if Rodriguez decides to stop cooperating with Washington, companies that have risked all that uncertainty to venture into Venezuela could quickly find themselves scrambling to protect their outposts and their workers.
“If Delcy changes her mind about capitulation, or we have a U.S. policy shift,” the result “can be very catastrophic and very fast,” Stern said, “leaving protectees vulnerable in the hands of standard executive protection.” Even if Rodriguez doesn’t waver while Trump is in the Oval Office, all bets are off once a new administration arrives in Washington.
Oil giant Chevron, which inked a $7 billion deal to double production in the country on Wednesday, did not respond to NatSec Daily’s request for comment. Neither did the Pentagon or the White House.
With help from Daniella Cheslow and James Bikales
