An offer they can't refuse? No thank you

Trump may keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela after CEO comments: 'I didn't like their response'

Darren Woods told administration the country is “currently uninvestible”.

President Donald Trump signaled Sunday that ExxonMobil could be excluded from any future U.S. involvement in Venezuela’s oil sector, saying he was unhappy with the company’s response following a meeting at the White House last week.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that the oil giant was "playing too cute."

"I didn't like Exxon's response. You know, we have so many that want it. I'd probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn't like their response," he said.

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told the administration on Friday at a roundtable event with other industry executives that Venezuela is currently "uninvestable," citing weak legal protections, past asset seizures and the need for major changes to the country’s hydrocarbon laws before ExxonMobil would consider reentering.

Woods said the company would take a long-term approach and would need durable legal and investment protections, as well as an invitation from the Venezuelan government, before committing, though he said he was confident the Trump administration could work with Caracas to put those changes in place.

Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in 1975, in 2001-2005 Chaves fired 18,000 engineers and maintenance workers in and replaced them with unskilled political hires, expelled Exxon/Mobil, and ruined the oil fields by diverting the funds necessary to maintain them to social programs. Maduro followed that up by somehow managing to making things worse. Gee, why would anyone balk at putting billions of dollars into the country?

Related January 11, 2026:

Venezuela’s Brutal Interior Minister Touts the State’s Monopoly on Arms. “Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello runs the colectivos. The US has put a $25 million bounty on his head. Undeterred, he’s bragged on video about the disarmed state of the people in Venezuela, that he says is, ‘contributing to the calm.'”