{"id":334606,"date":"2026-01-07T11:23:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/?post_type=to4_article_post&#038;p=334606"},"modified":"2026-01-07T11:23:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:23:33","slug":"venezuelan-oil-brought-to-us-would-be-refined-in-black-gulf-coast-communities","status":"publish","type":"to4_article_post","link":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/venezuelan-oil-brought-to-us-would-be-refined-in-black-gulf-coast-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Venezuelan Oil Brought to US Would Be Refined in Black Gulf Coast Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"truth-post-content-before\" id=\"truth-674565820\"><div class=\"callout callout inline-callout mb-5 callout--text callout--text\" id=\"truth-304218\" data-callout-id=\"304218\" data-callout-theme=\"text\" data-callout-placement=\"Undefined\" data-callout-title=\"BCB 304218 Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news...\"><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news \u2014 make a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/support.truthout.org\/-\/XXQLBDSX\/&amp;utm_source=truthout&amp;utm_medium=bcb&amp;utm_campaign=304218\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">quick donation<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to Truthout today!\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><aside class=\"wp-block-truthout-aside-block\">\n      <p><em>This story was originally published by <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/capitalbnews.org\/trump-venezuela-oil-black-gulf-coast-pollution\/\">Capital B<\/a>. <em>\r\n<\/em><\/p>\n  <\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>On Saturday morning, John Beard woke up to news that he\u2019d been dreading, but preparing for: A global oil crisis could hit closer to home in Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The southeastern part of the state is home to more than a dozen oil refineries, and he\u2019d spent decades working at one of them. But after attending more funerals than he could count for loved ones that died from cancer, he began to feel differently about the job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beard has spent the past year doing \u201cextensive work\u201d in Europe, warning allies about the dangers of expanding fossil fuels and urging them to prepare to \u201cstand up and push back\u201d against U.S. and industry plans under the Trump administration. He has also been coordinating with local advocates to scrutinize new industrial proposals in Port Arthur, his hometown in southeast Texas, which is home to several oil refineries.<\/p><div class=\"truth-post-content-high\" id=\"truth-2523185187\"><div class=\"callout inline-callout p-4 mb-5 callout--subscribe callout--dark\" id=\"truth-255395\" data-callout-id=\"255395\" data-callout-theme=\"dark\" data-callout-placement=\"Post Content - High\" data-callout-title=\"Uncompromised, uncompromising news\"><h2>Uncompromised, uncompromising news<\/h2>\n<p>Get reliable, independent news and commentary delivered to your inbox every day.<\/p>\n<script>\nvar 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);\n<\/script>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Nearly half of the people living in his neighborhood report living with \u201cpoor\u201d health, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/22c7182a162d45788dd52a2362f8ed65\">federal data<\/a>. And the risk for developing cancer caused by air pollution is essentially the highest in the country at <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.propublica.org\/toxmap\/#hotspot\/26\">1 in every 53 residents<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beard fears it may get worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For him, the recent U.S. airstrike on Venezuela, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/03\/world\/americas\/venezuela-airstrike-civilian-deaths.html\">killed<\/a> at least 40 citizens and has been framed as a push to restore democracy, has landed as something far more familiar: a fight over oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until 2010, Venezuela was one of the world\u2019s largest oil producers, but over the past 15 years the country\u2019s oil production fell sharply as U.S. sanctions crippled its exports and Venezuela\u2019s government limited output to retain control over the resource. Today, Venezuela holds the world\u2019s largest proven oil reserves, a critical resource only becoming more valuable as global supplies tighten and energy demands surge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>President Donald Trump has said the U.S. will be taking over the nation\u2019s oil reserves \u2014 keeping some for the U.S. while selling millions of barrels to other countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Beard\u2019s home and dozens of other Black communities along the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Texas, \u201cthat\u2019s going to be more pollution and cancer,\u201d the community advocate said. \u201cThis is an extenuation of the problem the industry has already created and a fight to make sure there is no way out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Texas \u2014 particularly Beard\u2019s hometown and neighboring Beaumont \u2014 and Louisiana make up the densest regional cluster of large refineries on the planet. And those facilities were originally designed for processing dense, sulfur-rich crude from countries like Venezuela. Years of disruption forced them to rely on Canadian tar sands and Middle Eastern blends, which increased costs for American oil companies. This last push for Venezuelan oil, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2026\/jan\/04\/venezuela-oil-industry-bust-what-role-could-the-us-play\">experts said<\/a>, is an attempt to restore profitability and strengthen the U.S. supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to Venezuela\u2019s push to keep control over its oil, the country\u2019s oil made up about 15% of the oil refined in America. Since then, it is about 3%. But with U.S. control over the country\u2019s oil industry, the amount of Venezuela oil in the U.S. is expected to increase exponentially. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTrump now joins the history of U.S. presidents who have overthrown regimes of oil-rich countries. Bush with Iraq. Obama with Libya,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/no-quick-wins-tapping-venezuelas-oil-reserves-2026-01-04\/\">said<\/a> Ed Hirs, an energy fellow at the University of Houston. \u201cIn those cases, the United States has received zero benefit from the oil. I\u2019m afraid that history will repeat itself in Venezuela.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hirs argues that the physical control of reserves won\u2019t translate to cheaper prices at American pumps, rather just increase the bottom lines of oil companies. Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Acyn\/status\/2008001198474076559\">said<\/a> he shared his plans to attack Venezuela with the leaders of U.S. oil companies before the bombings happened over the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Venezuelan crude oil is much worse for the environment than the typical lighter grades used in the U.S. today. \u201cBurning any type of oil contributes to climate change, but Venezuela\u2019s oil is \u2018among the dirtiest oils in the world to produce when it comes to global warming,\u201d said Paasha Mahdavi, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But for refinery operators, the economics are compelling because the heavy crude is $5 to $15 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-08-08\/us-refiners-see-margin-boost-as-heavy-oil-supply-rebounds?embedded-checkout=true\">cheaper<\/a> per barrel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every year, 91,000 people die prematurely in the U.S. due to pollution events from the country\u2019s oil and gas industry, according to a landmark <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.adu2241\">yearslong study<\/a> of health outcomes in communities near oil and gas facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Black and Asian people are most likely to experience these negative health outcomes from oil and gas, which also includes 10,350 preterm births, 216,000 childhood cases of asthma, and 1,610 cancer cases every year. These communities in Texas and Louisiana are hit the hardest by far, the study concluded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Texas said the bombing of Venezuela and the kidnapping of the nation\u2019s president, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, is \u201cnot what the American people asked for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPeople can\u2019t afford groceries and millions are losing health care, but this is where his focus is,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-will-be-the-economic-consequences\">What Will Be the Economic Consequences?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Trump administration has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/01\/03\/trump-venezuela-oil.html\">suggested<\/a> that American oil companies and workers will be sent to Venezuela to rebuild the oil infrastructure destroyed by years of economic collapse and sanctions. But Beard, who has spent decades watching industrial development promises fail to materialize in his own community, is deeply skeptical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat I thought was so funny was to hear the president say that the companies are going to go in there and they\u2019re going to help them rebuild the infrastructure and do this and do that,\u201d he said. \u201cBut they\u2019re not doing it here; we have accidents weekly. So what does that tell us about what they think about us?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any job growth from increased Venezuelan oil refining is unlikely to reach Gulf Coast communities, despite the billions in industrial investment that flows through the region, experts said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the best case scenario, \u201cit will take about a decade and about a hundred billion dollars of investment,\u201d said Francisco Monaldi, who is the director of the Latin America Energy Program at Rice University in Houston. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just three companies \u2014 Valero Energy, Chevron, and PBF Energy \u2014 process 80% of all Venezuelan crude imported to the U.S., and are best positioned to reap the benefits of the U.S. occupation of Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite southeast Texas and Louisiana seeing over $100 billion in industrial development, the majority-Black communities around these industries consistently rank among the highest in unemployment \u2014 a pattern Beard describes as \u201cenvironmental racism.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Lake Charles, Louisiana, there are three major oil refineries, including the Citgo refinery, which is the seventh-largest in the world and already a major refiner of Venezuelan oil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For years, Debra Ramirez, who has spent her whole life in the area, has driven around with a laminated list of where the oil being refined in her backyard comes from. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She said she arrived at the realization that the Venezuelan oil crisis was coming long before Trump ever spoke about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her community of Mossville, once a self-sufficient enclave with hunting grounds, gardens, and tight-knit neighborhoods where families shared their harvests with one another, was systematically dismantled by the petrochemical plants that surround Lake Charles. Many residents died from cancer-related illnesses and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2021\/nov\/17\/this-communitys-black-families-lost-their-ancestral-homes-their-white-neighbors-got-richer\">documented<\/a> toxic blood contamination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey destroyed our home, and they can never ever give back,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Ramirez, Beard, and others like them, increased Venezuelan crude refining doesn\u2019t represent progress or \u201cAmerica first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is just the same old extraction and disposability that has already devastated our world,\u201d Beard said. <\/p>\n<div class=\"truth-post-content-after\" id=\"truth-4764490\"><div class=\"callout inline-callout p-4 mb-5 callout-- callout--white\" id=\"truth-334871\" data-callout-id=\"334871\" data-callout-theme=\"white\" data-callout-placement=\"Post Content - After\" data-callout-title=\"2026-01 Main Campaign (FRU) Trump is silencing political dissent. We appeal for your support.\">\n<div class=\"p-2 text-start\">\n<h5 class=\"pb-2\" style=\"text-transform: uppercase; font-family: var(--bs-font-sans-serif); text-align: center;\">Trump is silencing political dissent. We appeal for your support.<\/h5>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Progressive nonprofits are the latest target caught in Trump\u2019s crosshairs. With the aim of eliminating political opposition, Trump and his sycophants are working to curb government funding, constrain private foundations, and even cut tax-exempt status from organizations he dislikes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>We\u2019re concerned, because Truthout is not immune to such bad-faith attacks.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can only resist Trump\u2019s attacks by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. At Truthout, we have you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Truthout has launched a fundraiser to raise $45,000 in the next 8 days. <\/strong>Please take a meaningful action in the fight against authoritarianism: make a one-time or monthly donation to Truthout. If you have the means, please dig deep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"m-0\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"#XEGQPXGY\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Residents say US control of Venezuela\u2019s heavy crude will worsen environmental racism along the Gulf.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":334607,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[91698],"tags":[551,233,801,2453,3162,865,29566,451,804,2313],"section":[26,91714],"primary_topic":[91710],"series":[],"admin_tag":[],"class_list":["post-334606","to4_article_post","type-to4_article_post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-donald-trump","tag-environmental-racism","tag-fossil-fuels","tag-gulf-coast","tag-louisiana","tag-oil","tag-oil-refineries","tag-pollution","tag-texas","tag-venezuela","section-environment-and-health","section-racial-justice","primary_topic-racial-justice"],"acf":[],"related_articles":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/to4_article_post\/334606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/to4_article_post"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/to4_article_post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334606"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=334606"},{"taxonomy":"primary_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/primary_topic?post=334606"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=334606"},{"taxonomy":"admin_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/admin_tag?post=334606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}