President Donald Trump believes US companies can revive Venezuela’s beleaguered oil industry, benefiting both that nation and America. But even if that happens, it would be a fraction of changes needed to get the destitute country back on its feet.

U.S. sanctions helped cause the collapse of Venezuelan oil production — damage that Trump is now using as justification for his strike against the country.

Venezuela’s oil decline began years before sanctions, but sanctions still hold the key to how much production could return and how quickly.

Despite holding the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela’s oil industry collapsed after expropriations, mismanagement, and the loss of foreign expertise left it unable to produce its technically demanding heavy crude at scale.

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Start your morning with The National News Desk as Jan Jeffcoat sits down with Steve Moore to discuss Venezuela's economic collapse, bringing insight and context to the stories shaping the day. Watch weekday mornings from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. EST, Monday through Friday.

We’ve been checking in on the economic conditions in Venezuela for about a decade now. In response to the U.S. strike and the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro this weekend, we’re re-surfacing this episode with an update.

Denver home builder Noel West Lane worked in Hugo Chavez-led Venezuela and recalls watching the economy collapse before Maduro

A flotilla of US oil tankers is poised to begin lifting stranded Venezuelan oil, as analysts warned the country’s production will “collapse” unless Washington halts its naval blockade. What to know: Chevron,