Trump wants Venezuela’s oil. History says tread carefully.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Latin America’s vast natural resources have been a draw for U.S. interests across history and industries—from Alexander Hamilton to President Donald Trump, and from Ford Motor to Exxon Mobil.

For more than two centuries, U.S. efforts to control the riches in sugar, bananas, rubber, and oil to be found in South and Central America and the Caribbean have met with mixed results. The difficult topography, a local aversion to so-called “gunboat" diplomacy, and corrupt political regimes have been among foreign firms’ many obstacles.

While some companies made fortunes, others beat hasty retreats. Now, Trump is vowing to “run" Venezuela to unlock its oil reserves, the world’s largest. But before he and American oil majors rush back in, they’d do well to look at past U.S.

exploits in the region. History shows, if anything, that imperialist ventures in Latin America don’t always pay off. Already, many global leaders have expressed alarm at the U.S.’s seizure of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, earlier this month—and at Trump’s threats directed at Cuba, Colombia, and other governments in the region.

U.S. corporations are taking a cautious approach to Trump’s call for investment in Venezuela. “We’ve had our assets seized there twice," Exxon CEO Darren Woods said after meeting with oil executives on Jan.

9. “You can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we’ve historically seen here and what is currently the state." Chevron is the only major U.S. oil company presently active in Venezuela.

Exxon, which declined to comment for this article, ultimately sued Venezuela for $12 billion but saw only a fraction of that. U.S. relations with Latin