In January 2026, the US launched a military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum confirmed that Washington on Friday brought over $100 million of gold from Venezuela.
Speaking to Fox News on how US is planning to explore Venezuela’s rare earth minerals, Burgum said given that US President Donald Trump had promised a golden age of abundance, the first critical mineral coming from Venezuela will be solid gold bars.
“On Friday, there was $100 million of gold that came from Venezuela to the US, both for industrial purposes and other commercial uses. Venezuela’s got $500 billion resources of gold but they also have other ciritical minerals like bauxite and aluminium, which we need for our defence and consumer goods, coal resources to help generate power. It can also help us win the AI arms race with China,” said Burgum.
Stating the people in Venezuela will thank US President Donald Trump, Burgum said, “When we were there last week with oil and gas executives and top mining executives, they were excited to get back to Venezuela and explore the great opportunities available there. People of Venezuela are going to dedicate a statue for Trump because he is going to open their economy again, after more than two decades. The enthusiam is high in Venezuela as to what their future can be.”
In January 2026, the US launched a military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. They were flown to the US to face charges including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves in the world. After Maduro’s removal, the US negotiated access to Venezuelan oil and approved private companies to to control production and sales of Venezuelan oil.
Washington lifted some sanctions and approved licences to trade Venezuelan crude.