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Wright to Cuomo: No Boots on the Ground in Venezuela; U.S. Selling Its Crude at Full Market Price

January 14, 2026 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:06:48

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, asked by Chris Cuomo why involvement in Venezuela is in America’s interest, pointed to 20 years in which, he said, Venezuela served as Hezbollah’s headquarters in the Western Hemisphere, hosted Russian and Chinese personnel protecting the dictator, sold oil to China far below market price, and operated as a narco-terrorist state exporting guns, crime, and migrants to the United States, according to Wright.

Wright said that for the first time in two decades no one is stealing Venezuelan oil — previously diverted by internal narco gangs, corruption in the state oil company, and below-market Chinese purchases — and that, in partnership with the United States, Venezuela’s crude is now sold at full market prices with the money brought back to benefit Venezuelan society, according to Wright. He said there will not be American boots on the ground and none are needed, according to the interview.

Pressed that the operation was not exactly negotiated, Wright agreed: President Maduro, on whom he said the Biden administration had placed a $25 million bounty, was arrested in a genius military operation lasting hours, with no American soldier killed, and will face trial in custody with his wife, according to Wright. He said the United States quarantined Venezuela’s oil exports for leverage and is dealing with the people in power — not democratic princes, he conceded — to bring stability and prosperity and ultimately transition to a representative government, according to Wright.

Why it matters

The NewsNation interview is Wright’s fullest early defense of the Venezuela operation’s terms: no ground troops, full-price oil sales, export quarantine as leverage, and a stated transition goal.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins Chris Cuomo on News Nation - January 13, 2026”, 2026-01-14 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-01-14). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.