The Defense Department’s Office of Strategic Capital, founded by the Biden administration to give loans to bolster the U.S. defense industry, is helping lead President Trump’s oil deal.
Page F5From§Eachthe coffee break edition — 1 September 2026
Trump administration takes 35% stake in new Venezuelan oil company as Pentagon gets into oil business
As it ran on the front
The Trump administration claims a 35% equity stake in a new Venezuelan oil company, while the Pentagon begins operations in the oil business. The ledger reads like a merger: foreign policy now paired with asset management. Diplomatic statements frame the move as support for prosperity and stability, but the receipts show ownership—stakes, shares, and barrels.
The cost isn't measured in cash alone, hon. The returns are counted in crude, and the price is paid in the state's priorities. When the Pentagon moves from strategy to inventory, the balance sheet takes on new meaning: oil as both policy and product. The question isn't just what gets secured, but who gets paid. The paperwork says 'prosperity,' but the numbers say 'profit.'…
…(cont) The gap between stated goals and actual holdings—35%—is not an accident. It is a ledger entry with a flag on it. The policy is ownership, and the receipts are slick.
“Trump's team grabs a 35% stake in Venezuela's oil, and the Pentagon starts dealing barrels—American policy now comes with an ownership interest. When the war room turns into a boardroom, the receipts get slick.”
“The administration is supporting democratic reforms in Venezuela and ensuring energy security. The Pentagon is just helping stabilize the region. Did I say 'oil business'? No, it's about freedom and prosperity. Actually, it's all for the good of America—did I mention democracy?”
The receipts
The Trump administration has confirmed it will be taking a 35% equity stake in a new oil company that will drill across more than a dozen oil fields in Venezuela. On Monday night, the White House published new details of the deal, first…
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.