Trump 'inclined' to keep Exxon out of Venezuela after CEO calls it 'uninvestable' [View all]
Source: USA Today
Jan. 11, 2026, 9:25 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he might block Exxon Mobil from investing in Venezuela after the company's CEO called the country "uninvestable" during a White House meeting last week.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods told Trump that Venezuela would need to change its laws before it could be an attractive investment opportunity, during a White House meeting on Jan. 9 with other oil executives.
His comments were a blow to Trump's goal of convincing U.S. oil firms to spend billions of dollars to revitalize Venezuela's oil industry after capturing the country's president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife on Jan. 3 and bringing them to New York to face trial on charges of narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking.
"I didn't like Exxon's response," Trump told reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington on Jan. 11. "I'll probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn't like their response. They're playing too cute."
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/01/11/venezuela-oil-trump-exxon-mobil/88135896007/
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