It is now clear that Trump’s priority in capturing President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela was not to make that country safe for the restoration of democracy but to make it safe for the restoration of American oil companies’ dominance over Venezuelan oil extraction. Trump probably hopes that if he can bring Venezuela’s massive, untapped oil reserves to market that he can drive the price of gasoline down at the pump toward $1 a gallon and win the midterms. But I don’t think that will be so easy. Here’s my prediction: Trump will soon discover that the only way to revive major American oil investments in Venezuela is to revive Venezuela’s democracy.