Country profile · South America
Venezuela
Venezuela has 28.5 million people and the world's largest proven oil reserves. US forces captured President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on January 3, 2026, and flew him to New York to face drug trafficking charges. His vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, now governs as acting president, and the United States controls the sale of Venezuela's oil.
Where Venezuela ranks
All rankings →Who runs Venezuela?
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez runs Venezuela. On the day of the raid, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice declared Maduro in "forced absence", a category the constitution does not contain, and ordered her to take over. Her brother Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, swore her in on January 5, 2026. Born in Caracas in 1969, she trained as a lawyer. Her father, the founder of a small socialist party, died under torture in the custody of the political police in 1976, when she was seven. She was foreign minister from 2014 to 2017 and Maduro's vice president from 2018. She met President Trump in New York on September 22, 2026, and says elections will come "when Venezuela is ready".
Photo (2026): Presidency of Venezuela, Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Who are Venezuela's allies and rivals?
The United States is now the interim government's patron. An executive order of January 9, 2026 put Venezuela's oil revenue in US Treasury accounts. President Trump said in July 2026 that more than $13 billion of oil had been sold, and a State Department official said about $3 billion had reached Venezuela by April. Oil shipments to Cuba stopped after the raid. China protested in September 2026 after oilfields worked by its companies were handed to a US-backed operator. Colombia's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, refuses to deal directly with Rodríguez's government. Venezuela claims the Essequibo region, about 74% of Guyana. The International Court of Justice may rule from November 2026, and Rodríguez says Venezuela will not recognize any ruling.
Allies and partners
United StatesControls oil sales since January 2026
IndiaTook 25.4% of oil exports, August 2026
Trinidad and TobagoRelations reset at UN, September 2026
SpainHosts 602,500 Venezuelans
Tensions
GuyanaVenezuela claims about 74% of its land
ColombiaNew president refuses direct talks
ChinaOilfields handed to US-backed operator
CubaOil cut off after January 2026
- Caracas US forces captured President Maduro here on January 3, 2026.
- Orinoco Belt Home to most of the world's largest proven oil reserves. Extra-heavy crude.
- Dragon gas field Shared with Trinidad and Tobago, which expects gas to flow within a year.
- Essequibo Held by Guyana, claimed by Venezuela. ICJ ruling expected from November 2026.
- Gulf of Venezuela Sea border with Colombia has never been settled.
- Venezuela
- Partner
- Tensions
Who does Venezuela trade with?
Venezuela's exports are dominated by oil, and it publishes no trade statistics. It exported 1.17 million barrels a day of crude and fuel in August 2026, by Reuters' count: the United States took 47.3%, India 25.4% and Europe 22.2%. In November 2025, before the US blockade, about 80% went to China. Today the trading companies Vitol and Trafigura sell about half of Venezuela's oil. US imports from Venezuela totaled $8.23 billion from January to July 2026, more than twice the 2025 total. The central bank reported prices up 534.2% in the year to August 2026. Two earthquakes on June 24, 2026 killed 6,509 people by the official count of August 24, and the UN estimated the damage at about $37 billion.
Buys from
Share of Venezuela's imports
- China33.9%
- United States29.9%
Brazil8.5%- Colombia7.1%
Argentina2.2%
Exports: crude oil and fuel by destination, August 2026 (Reuters tanker data). Imports: goods, 2024, as Venezuela's trading partners reported them to UN Comtrade. Venezuela publishes no trade figures.
How strong is Venezuela's military?
The IISS counts 123,000 active troops in the army, navy, air force and National Guard. A 2020 law made the Bolivarian Militia a fifth branch; Maduro claimed 8.2 million members, and the IISS counts 220,000. Russia sold Venezuela 24 Su-30MK2 fighters, S-300VM air defense missiles and 92 T-72B1 tanks. None of it stopped the US raid on January 3, 2026: US aircraft destroyed air defense launchers, and the Su-30s did not fly. The defense minister counted 47 Venezuelan soldiers killed, and Cuba said 32 of its personnel died. In March 2026 Acting President Rodríguez replaced Vladimir Padrino López, defense minister since 2014, with General Gustavo González López, a former intelligence chief. Venezuela has not reported its military spending for years.
Active troops in the Americas' largest armies, 2026
Full ranking →- United States1,340,150
- Brazil374,500
Mexico301,000- Colombia285,000
- Venezuela123,000
IISS, The Military Balance, 2024 to 2026 editions
How much oil does Venezuela have?
Venezuela has 303.7 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the largest in the world (OPEC). Most of it is extra-heavy crude in the Orinoco Belt. Production was 973,000 barrels a day in 2025, down from 2.49 million in 2015 and about 3.75 million at its 1970 peak (EIA). After a strike in 2002 and 2003, the state oil company PDVSA fired about 18,000 workers. Mismanagement and US sanctions cut output further. The government said output reached 1.23 million barrels a day in August 2026. On August 31, 2026 the White House announced 100-year concessions on 17 fields for a US-backed company in which the US government gets a 35% stake. Rystad Energy says a return to the old peak will take decades.
Oil production in the Americas, 2025 (barrels a day)
Full ranking →- United States13,586,000
Canada4,964,000- Brazil3,769,000
- Mexico1,726,000
- Venezuela973,000
- Argentina794,000
- Guyana747,000
- Colombia746,000
US Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics