donald trump
President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump's campaign to remove Nicolás Maduro from power, culminating in the Venezuelan leader's capture this month, has been driven not only by security and economic concerns but also by long-standing personal and business ties to Venezuela, according to a new sprawling Bloomberg report.

Trump has framed his Venezuela policy as an effort to curb drug trafficking, reduce migration, and revive the country's oil industry. But Bloomberg describes how his interest in the country developed over decades through relationships with Venezuelan elites and involvement in the global beauty pageant industry, shaping a narrative of Venezuela as a nation that fell from prosperity.

Trump has repeatedly portrayed Venezuela as a placein decline, frequently suggesting that he has had a long-standing relationship with the country. "It was a great country 20 years ago, and now, it's a mess," he said during his second inauguration in 2025, a comment he later repeated at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He has also said Venezuela is "a country I know very well, for a lot of reasons," as Bloomberg points out.

According to Bloomberg, Trump's rivalry with Venezuelan billionaire Gustavo Cisneros over the acquisition of the Miss Universe pageant in the mid-1990s marked a pivotal episode in his relationship with the country. Trump ultimately outbid Cisneros, a deal that strengthened his media profile and contributed to the rise of his television brand.

The report also details Trump's social and professional connections with Venezuelan figures in New York and Miami and his enduring fascination with the country's former wealth and global cultural presence. Venezuelan analyst Giovanna De Michele told Bloomberg that Trump's memory of Venezuela's boom years and pageant culture "holds a special fascination for him."

Since Maduro's capture, Trump has worked with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, describing her as "willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again." Asked about Trump's motivations, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said his actions were driven by security concerns, stating that Maduro was "sending drugs and criminals into our country at unacceptable rates."

Bloomberg also reports that during a 2020 meeting with opposition leader Juan Guaidó, Trump asked aides about Osmel Sousa, a prominent figure in the Miss Universe circuit, reflecting his continued interest in Venezuela's pageant world.

Originally published on Latin Times