Oil prices dropped on Monday after the US captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Brent crude fell 0.7% to $60.33 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.54% to $56.01 a barrel. US President Donald Trump vowed to unlock Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. Venezuela makes only 1% of the world’s oil due to sanctions, low investment, and blockades. Yet, it holds 17% of global crude reserves, says the US Energy Information Administration. Trump promised US oil firms would spend billions to fix Venezuela’s oil industry and start earning. However, no major US oil company has publicly confirmed plans to invest billions. A former Chevron executive, Ali Moshiri, said he is raising $2bn for Venezuelan oil projects. He told the Financial Times, “We have been anticipating this breakthrough for a while and our $2bn private placement memorandum is ready to go with several investment targets identified.” Kathleen Brooks of XTB said the fall in oil prices could be brief. She explained that rebuilding Venezuela’s oil output needs upgrading old infrastructure, drilling wells, and building refineries. Venezuela’s oil production peaked at 3.5 million barrels a day in 1998 but is now about 1 million. China’s top financial regulator asked major banks to report their exposure to Venezuela, preparing for possible shocks, according to Bloomberg. Despite the weekend’s events, OPEC+—including Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—kept their pause on raising oil production until at least April. In other markets, gold rose 2% to $4,413.93, a safe haven in uncertain times. Silver rose up to 3.5%. Bitcoin also climbed 1.1% to $92,504. Asian stock markets started strong, with South Korea’s Kospi index hitting a record high by rising 3%.