Trump Casually Admits He Was Going to Attack Venezuela Again

Venezuela has apparently saved itself from another U.S. invasion by readily handing over political prisoners to the Trump administration.

Donald Trump revealed Friday that there was a preplanned arrangement to attack Venezuela a second time, though he noted that the offensive maneuver had since been called off in light of Venezuela’s capitulation with regard to releasing prisoners.

“Venezuela is releasing large numbers of political prisoners as a sign of ‘Seeking Peace.’ This is a very important and smart gesture,” Trump posted on Truth Social early Friday morning.

“The U.S.A. and Venezuela are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure,” Trump continued. “Because of this cooperation, I have cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks, which looks like it will not be needed, however, all ships will stay in place for safety and security purposes.

“At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” he added.

The move comes just hours after five Senate Republicans joined Democrats to advance the War Powers Resolution, which would force Trump to seek congressional approval before conducting any further military offensives in Venezuela. The Senate will carry out a final vote on the bill next week, after which the measure would need to pass the House and then get signed by Trump.

U.S. forces invaded Venezuela early Saturday, bombing its capital, Caracas, as nearly 200 American troops infiltrated the city to capture its 13-year ruler, Nicolás Maduro.

The narrative surrounding Trump’s attack on Venezuela has been wildly different from America’s other foreign intervention efforts. Whereas the George W. Bush administration insisted that its invasion of Iraq was to quell terrorism and suppress the nation’s nuclear capabilities—a claim that was dubiously received by the American public, considering the country was one of the world’s largest suppliers of oil at the time—Trump has been practically eager to fess to reporters that the primary rationale for his own military incursion against Venezuela was, truly, for oil.

On Tuesday, Trump announced that the U.S. would oversee the sale of some 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil, a sale that could be worth as much as $2.5 billion. The following day, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that America would continue to oversee and sell Venezuelan oil “indefinitely,” even after the government finishes chewing through the Latin American country’s stockpiled oil reserves.

In an interview with The New York Times published Thursday, Trump claimed that the U.S. will likely run Venezuela for years.

“Only time will tell,” Trump said. “We will rebuild it in a very profitable way.”