When the Trump administration seized control of Venezuela's oil operations following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January 2026, it entered territory without clear precedent — a nation's most vital resource now flowing through American hands. Months later, Democratic lawmakers are pressing for a full accounting of where those revenues are going, raising questions that reach beyond partisan politics into the enduring tension between executive power and democratic accountability. How a government manages the spoils of intervention says much about its intentions — and the silence so far has sp