Venezuela Oil Security Under Trump May Fall On Private Contractors: 'SEALs, Green Berets and Ninjas'

The Trump administration is preparing to rely on private military contractors to protect oil and energy infrastructure in Venezuela instead of deploying U.S. troops, according to two sources familiar with the planning who spoke with CNN.

The move, analysts say, reflects both the security risks on the ground and the administration's need to reassure oil companies weighing a return to Venezuelan fields after U.S. forces captured former president Nicolás Maduro.

People close to Trump say he has not ruled out a U.S. military presence, but is wary of putting American troops in Venezuela for an extended period. The administration has been urging major oil companies to reinvest in Venezuela's weakened energy sector, and officials must persuade firms that personnel and infrastructure can be protected "not just for months but years," the sources told CNN.

Discussions remain at an early stage, but private security firms are already positioning for potential contracts, another person familiar with the matter said. The Defense Department recently issued a request for information to contractors on their ability to support possible U.S. operations in Venezuela, the person added.

Contractors have also been in touch with the State Department's overseas building operations office about providing security if the U.S. embassy in Venezuela reopens. The Pentagon declined to comment.

Bryan Stern, founder of Grey Bull Rescue Foundation—a group of U.S. special forces veterans that helped opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado secretly leave Venezuela last year—said talk of contractor work is circulating. "I think it's a little premature, but people are talking about it," Stern said. He added: "Foreign investment comes back, and when it does, it brings a bunch of Navy SEAL dudes and Green Beret dudes and ninjas to keep them alive and safe. It'll look a lot like that in Venezuela."

The reliance on contractors could draw scrutiny, given controversies involving private security firms during the Iraq War. One source suggested Erik Prince, the former Blackwater founder and a Trump ally, could be involved; Prince told CNN, "No comment to CNN. Ever."

The push to restart investment has also met resistance from large oil companies. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told Trump last week that Venezuela is "uninvestable" in its current state, and Trump later said he was "inclined" to keep Exxon out because of the remark. Bob McNally of Rapidan Energy framed the question for executives bluntly: "If we send teams there, can we go to the countryside or will we be killed?"