U.S. Secures Venezuelan Resources Reshaping Taiwan's Vulnerability

Recent U.S. shifts toward cooperation with Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodríguez are reorganizing access to Venezuela’s vast resource base, including 303 billion barrels of oil (Oil & Gas Journal, 2023) and strategically important minerals. The article argues this reordering embeds resources in U.S.-aligned supply chains and increases strategic optionality for major powers. For Taiwan, this strengthens managed dependence by allies rather than granting Taipei direct upstream access, reinforcing Taiwan’s material vulnerabilities.