Lorenzo Maria Pacini
While the US is busy removing the speck from others' eyes, failing to see the log in its own, there are those who profit from it all.
Some invest, some profit
While the US is busy removing the speck from others' eyes, failing to see the log in its own, there are those who profit from it all.
One of President Donald Trump's most influential billionaire financiers, who in recent months has actively supported a plan to overthrow the Venezuelan government, is poised to reap huge profits after the seizure of the country's president, Nicolás Maduro, this weekend on Trump's initiative.
While avoiding informing Congress, Trump said he had instead informed the heads of the major oil companies before the illegal action. In a subsequent press conference, he announced that the United States would send "our great American oil companies" to Venezuela, which, according to him, will 'manage' the energy sector for an indefinite period and "begin to generate profits" for the benefit of the United States.
Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute Trump insults his country's democratic processes, doing as he pleases with the magnates of oil capitalism, but then calls Maduro a dictator ? The cognitive bias of American leadership is truly worthy of a Guinness World Record, or a DSM-5.
In any case, the one profiting from this whole story is billionaire Paul Singer.
Singer is the founder of the Elliott Management hedge fund, considered one of Wall Street's most aggressive investors and, since 2024, one of the leading Republican megadonors and supporters of Donald Trump. He is known both for his "vulture capitalism" operations on sovereign debt (Argentina, Venezuela, etc.) and for his political influence through maxi-donations, lobbying, and conservative think tanks.
He became famous for a strategy based on rigorous analysis of complex situations, acquisitions of companies in crisis or poorly managed, and systematic use of litigation to maximize returns on investments. The financial press describes him as one of the "most feared" and "toughest" investors in the hedge fund industry.
The emblematic case is Argentina: Singer bought securities at a steep discount after the default and waged a legal war for years, even attempting to seize an Argentine Navy training ship in Ghana; in the end, in 2016, he obtained an estimated return of over 1,200% on his initial capital. This type of strategy earned him the nickname "vulture fund" and drew harsh criticism from NGOs, the United Nations, and governments in the Global South for the social impact of his demands for repayment.
In the 2024 election cycle, Singer made a quantum leap: he donated $5 million to the pro-Trump Super PAC "Make America Great Again Inc." and over $30 million to elect Republicans to Congress. He also made undisclosed contributions to Trump's "second transition team," effectively becoming a key megadonor in the new Trump era. At the same time, he donated $10 million to the main Super PAC for the Republican Senate (Senate Leadership Fund), his largest single federal donation ever recorded, as well as $37 million to elect Republican candidates to Congress. He also made an undisclosed contribution to finance Trump's second presidential transition phase.
Singer is also a well-known financier of pro-Israel initiatives: in 2021, his foundation donated over $3.3 million to organizations such as the Birthright Israel Foundation, Israel America Academic Exchange, Boundless Israel, and others, as shown in tax returns.
In November 2025, less than two months after the US operation to take control of Venezuela, Singer's investment company, Elliott Investment Management, concluded an apparently random transaction: the acquisition of Citgo, the US subsidiary of the Venezuelan state oil company, for $5.9 billion. The sale was imposed by a Delaware court following Venezuela's failure to pay its bonds.
The court-appointed special trustee, Robert Pincus, sits on the board of directors of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
In an official statement, Elliott Management expressed satisfaction with the court's decision, arguing that the transaction was "supported by a group of strategic investors in the US energy sector."
Singer thus obtained Citgo's three large coastal refineries, 43 oil terminals, and over 4,000 gas stations, taking advantage of a "significant discount" due to the company's financial difficulties. Court consultants had estimated the value of the asset at between $11 billion and $13 billion, while the Venezuelan government valued it at around $18 billion.
In short, a very rich man, positioned transversally and perfectly in the American style.
Venezuelan falcon
As for Venezuela, Pandora's box is opening.
Elliott/Singer is among the winners of the new course towards privatization/reassignment of Venezuelan assets in the US: in 2025, his fund acquires Citgo, the US subsidiary of the state oil company PDVSA, at a price described as "bargain basement." In other words, the Trump administration's aggressive moves against the Maduro government and the restructuring of Venezuelan debt pave the way for huge potential gains for Citgo and therefore for Singer.
The Trump administration's embargo on Venezuelan crude oil imports into the US has had a decisive impact on Citgo's collapse in value. Its refineries are designed to process heavy, high-sulfur Venezuelan oil; the blockade has forced the company to source more expensive crude oil from Canada and Colombia, drastically reducing the profitability of its operations.
This pattern fits perfectly with Singer's modus operandi, whose hedge fund is often labeled a "vulture fund." Singer is known for strategies such as buying up the debt of countries in crisis-such as Argentina-at bargain prices and then demanding full repayment, including interest and legal fees.
It is no coincidence that Delcy Rodríguez, who a few hours ago became interim president of Venezuela and is already vice president and oil minister, described the sale of Citgo to Singer as "fraudulent" and "coercive," which took place last December 2025.
December-January. Everything has been prepared to serve the interests of the American portfolio.
For Singer, the whole current situation represents an extremely favorable development: he is set to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of a Venezuelan oil industry controlled by US companies and presumably free from crippling sanctions.
Since 2011, Singer has donated over $10 million and is still a member of the board of directors of the conservative think tank Manhattan Institute, which in recent months has openly promoted Maduro's removal from office. In October, the institute published an article praising Trump for the consistency of his "policies against Maduro." But that's not all. Singer was also a major financier of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a neoconservative think tank to which he was the second-largest donor between 2008 and 2011, with over $3.6 million. In late November, shortly before Trump announced the closure of Venezuelan airspace and the start of the seizure of the country's oil tankers, the FDD released a document arguing that the United States had the "capability to launch a devastating air and missile campaign against the Maduro regime" to remove him from power.
Singer also served as Trump's financial watchdog during his first year back in the White House. In June, he poured $1 million into a Super PAC created to try to oust Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who had become one of Trump's leading internal opponents. A Super PAC linked to Miriam Adelson, another major pro-Israel donor, reportedly contributed to the same campaign.
Since then, Massie has established himself as one of Congress's most vocal critics of the attempt to change the regime in Venezuela, supporting resolutions aimed at limiting the president's war powers.
While the Trump administration claims US companies' rights to Venezuelan oil, Massie replied, "It's not American oil. It's Venezuelan oil." According to Massie, US troops are being put in danger to increase the profits of big oil companies and investors like Singer, who-after already spending a million dollars against him-is now set to earn billions from the acquisition of Citgo.
Yes, dear readers: once again, America has carried out a coup d'état for its own economic interests. Did you have any doubts?
Long live the Bolivarian revolution, long live Venezuela!