正文中英对照翻译（顺读式）
Trump Long Wanted to ‘Take the Oil.’ He Says He’ll Do It in Venezuela.
特朗普长期想要“拿走石油”，他说这次将在委内瑞拉付诸行动。
The White House had pointed to drug trafficking and migration as reasons to crack down on Nicolás Maduro. But oil emerged as central to President Trump.
白宫此前将打击尼古拉斯·马杜罗的理由归结为毒品走私和移民问题，但石油显然才是特朗普总统关注的核心。
While he was out of office, President Trump mused about what would have happened if the United States had taken control of Venezuela.
在不担任总统期间，特朗普曾反思如果美国接管了委内瑞拉，局势会如何发展。
“We would have gotten all that oil,” he said in a speech at the North Carolina Republican Convention in 2023. “It would have been right next door.”
“我们本可以拿到所有那些石油，”他在 2023 年北卡罗来纳州共和党大会的一次演讲中说，“就在我们隔壁。”
On Saturday, Mr. Trump made it clear that he now intends to follow through.
而在周六，特朗普明确表示，他现在打算把这一想法付诸实施。
In the last year, as the Trump administration built up pressure against Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan leader, the president and his top aides said that the aggressive U.S. actions were necessary to curb drugs and migration from that country.
过去一年里，随着特朗普政府不断加大对委内瑞拉领导人尼古拉斯·马杜罗的施压力度，总统及其高级助手表示，这些强硬的美国行动是为了遏制来自该国的毒品和移民问题。
But on Saturday, as Mr. Trump discussed the predawn attack on Venezuela that led to the capture of its leader, it was evident that the president’s longtime fixation on oil was a driving factor in his decision to greenlight the mission.
但在周六，当特朗普谈及那次凌晨前发动、并最终抓捕该国领导人的袭击时，很明显，总统长期以来对石油的执念是他批准该行动的重要推动因素。
“We’re going to be taking out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he celebrated the seizure of Mr. Maduro, promising that American companies would be able to tap more of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
“我们将从地下开采出巨额财富，”特朗普在庆祝马杜罗被抓捕时对记者说，并承诺美国公司将能够开发更多委内瑞拉庞大的石油储备。
The money made, he said, would go not only to the people of Venezuela, but also to American oil companies and “to the United States of America in the form of reimbursement for the damages caused us by that country.”
他说，获得的资金不仅将惠及委内瑞拉人民，还将流向美国石油公司，并“以补偿的形式返还给美利坚合众国，用于弥补那个国家对我们造成的损害”。
There was little immediate clarity as to how the White House envisions the United States profiting from Venezuela’s oil.
然而，白宫究竟设想如何让美国从委内瑞拉石油中获利，目前仍缺乏明确说明。
Analysts warn that large increases to the country’s oil production could take years and tens of billions of dollars in spending.
分析人士警告称，大幅提升该国石油产量可能需要多年时间，并投入数百亿美元资金。
But Mr. Trump indicated that the country’s oil wealth was a key factor not only in his decision to attack, but also in pledging that the United States would “run” Venezuela for the foreseeable future.
但特朗普表示，委内瑞拉的石油财富不仅是他决定发动袭击的关键因素，也是他承诺美国将在可预见的未来“接管”委内瑞拉的重要原因。
“It won’t cost us anything because the money coming out of the ground is very substantial,” Mr. Trump said, adding that “we’re going to get reimbursed for everything that we spend.”
“这不会让我们付出任何成本，因为从地下出来的钱非常可观，”特朗普说，并补充道，“我们将为所有支出获得补偿。”
Venezuela has about 17 percent of the world’s known oil reserves, or more than 300 billion barrels, more than any other country. But its production is only about 1 percent of the world total.
委内瑞拉拥有约占全球已知石油储量 17% 的资源，超过 3000 亿桶，是世界上最多的国家之一，但其产量仅占全球总量的约 1%。
Before Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in 1976, American companies like Exxon, Mobil and Gulf Oil were major players.
在委内瑞拉于 1976 年将石油工业国有化之前，埃克森、美孚和海湾石油等美国公司都是主要参与者。
The country reopened its oil industry to foreign drillers in the 1990s, but Hugo Chávez, Mr. Maduro’s predecessor, began another phase of nationalization in 2007.
该国在 20 世纪 90 年代重新向外国钻探企业开放石油产业，但马杜罗的前任乌戈·查韦斯在 2007 年又开启了新一轮国有化。
U.S. oil giants like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips claimed they were owed billions of dollars in compensation because their operations were seized.
埃克森美孚和康菲石油等美国石油巨头声称，由于其业务被没收，它们应获得数十亿美元的赔偿。
That history feeds the Trump administration’s contention that Venezuela stole oil from the United States — an argument that the White House increasingly made in the weeks leading up to Saturday’s attack.
这段历史助长了特朗普政府的说法，即委内瑞拉“偷走了”美国的石油——而白宫在周六袭击前的数周里，越来越频繁地提出这一论点。
Stephen Miller, the senior Trump adviser central to the president’s immigration crackdown, posted on social media last month that “American sweat, ingenuity and toil created the oil industry in Venezuela.”
特朗普在移民打击政策中的核心顾问斯蒂芬·米勒上个月在社交媒体上发文称，“美国人的汗水、智慧和辛劳创造了委内瑞拉的石油工业。”
“If you remember, they took all of our energy rights; they took all of our oil from not that long ago,” Mr. Trump said last month. “And we want it back.”
“如果你还记得的话，不久前他们拿走了我们所有的能源权益，拿走了我们所有的石油，”特朗普上个月说，“而我们要把它拿回来。”
Laying claim to other countries’ oil has long been a fixture in Mr. Trump’s rhetoric.
对其他国家石油提出主张，长期以来一直是特朗普言辞中的固定主题。
“I’ve been saying it for years. Take the oil,” he told The New York Times in 2016, when asked how his strategy to fight the Islamic State in the Middle East would differ from President Barack Obama’s approach.
“我已经说了好多年了，拿走石油，”他在 2016 年接受《纽约时报》采访、被问及其打击中东伊斯兰国的策略与奥巴马总统有何不同时说道。
As the Trump administration increased its pressure on Mr. Maduro during the last year, oil was not initially central to its public rationale.
在过去一年特朗普政府不断加大对马杜罗施压时，石油最初并非其公开理由的核心。
Instead, the White House focused on claims that Mr. Maduro had directed drug trafficking and gang members who migrated to the United States — some of which have been disputed by Mr. Trump’s own intelligence agencies.
相反，白宫重点强调马杜罗指挥毒品走私以及帮派成员向美国移民的指控，而其中一些说法甚至遭到特朗普自己情报机构的质疑。
When Mr. Trump said in March that he would impose tariffs on countries that buy Venezuelan oil, he said he was doing it because, he claimed, Venezuela had “purposefully and deceitfully” sent “murderers and people of a very violent nature” to the United States.
今年 3 月，特朗普表示将对购买委内瑞拉石油的国家征收关税，他称此举是因为委内瑞拉“蓄意且具有欺骗性地”向美国输送了“杀人犯和极端暴力分子”。
But behind the scenes, as The Times reported last month, the future of Venezuela’s oil was central to Mr. Trump’s deliberations as early as last spring.
但正如《纽约时报》上个月报道的那样，在幕后，早在去年春天，委内瑞拉石油的未来就已成为特朗普决策考量的核心。
The White House saw the pressure campaign against Venezuela as a way to combine three separate policy goals: crippling Mr. Maduro, using military force against drug cartels and securing access to Venezuela’s oil reserves for U.S. companies.
白宫将对委内瑞拉的施压行动视为实现三项目标的方式：削弱马杜罗、对毒品贩运集团动用军事力量，以及为美国公司确保进入委内瑞拉石油储备的渠道。
Chevron has in recent years been the only U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela, thanks to permission from the governments of both countries to produce and export oil there.
近年来，得益于两国政府的许可，雪佛龙一直是唯一在委内瑞拉运营的美国石油公司，负责生产并出口石油。
Chevron’s activities played into the White House deliberations, as the company lobbied the White House for an extension of the Biden-era license that allowed it to expand its operations in Venezuela, as The Times previously reported.
正如《纽约时报》此前报道的那样，雪佛龙的业务活动也影响了白宫的讨论，该公司曾游说白宫延长拜登时期发放的许可证，以扩大其在委内瑞拉的运营。
However, on Saturday, Chevron was circumspect, even after Mr. Trump said that U.S. companies would soon spend “billions of dollars” on Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.
然而，在周六，即便特朗普称美国公司将很快在委内瑞拉石油基础设施上投入“数十亿美元”，雪佛龙仍表现得相当谨慎。
The company initially sent reporters a statement saying it was “prepared to work constructively with the U.S. government during this period, leveraging our experience and presence to strengthen U.S. energy security.”
该公司最初向记者发送了一份声明，称其“准备在这一时期与美国政府进行建设性合作，利用我们的经验和既有布局来加强美国的能源安全”。
It later said the statement was incorrect and issued a new one that removed mention of the U.S. government.
随后，雪佛龙表示该声明有误，并发布了一份删除了对美国政府提及的新声明。
“Chevron remains focused on the safety and well-being of our employees, as well as the integrity of our assets,” the company said. “We continue to operate in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.”
“雪佛龙仍将关注员工的安全与福祉，以及我们资产的完整性，”公司表示，“我们将继续在完全遵守所有相关法律和法规的前提下开展业务。”
重点词汇表（非表格）
muse about：沉思，揣测 follow through (on)：贯彻执行，落实 build up pressure：逐步加大压力 predawn attack：黎明前的袭击 fixation：执念，强烈迷恋 greenlight：批准（计划、行动） tap (resources)：开发、利用（资源） reimbursement：补偿，报销 nationalize：国有化 lay claim to：声称拥有，对……提出主张 public rationale：公开理由 behind the scenes：幕后，私下 circumspect：谨慎的，小心翼翼的
10 组语法点解析（对应原文）
While he was out of office, … while 引导时间状语从句，表示“在……期间”。 made it clear that … it 作形式宾语，that 从句是真正宾语。 as the Trump administration built up pressure … as 表示“随着”，引导时间/伴随状语。 it was evident that … 形式主语结构，that 从句是真正主语。 promising that American companies would be able to … 现在分词短语作伴随状语，补充说明主句动作。 There was little immediate clarity as to how … There be 句型 + as to 表示“关于、至于”。 not only … but also … 并列强调结构，注意前后成分对称。 Before Venezuela nationalized its oil industry … before 引导时间状语从句，描述历史先后。 some of which have been disputed … which 引导非限制性定语从句，指代前面的“claims”。 even after Mr. Trump said that … even after 加强让步语气，表示“即便在……之后”。
内容总结
这篇报道揭示了特朗普政府对委内瑞拉采取军事与政治行动背后的真实动机。尽管白宫长期以毒品走私和非法移民为公开理由，但文章通过特朗普本人言论和政策背景表明，石油资源才是核心驱动因素。特朗普将控制委内瑞拉石油视为既能“补偿”美国、又能让美国公司获利的战略机会，并据此为长期“接管”该国寻找正当性。
影响分析
国际秩序冲击：以“资源补偿”为理由介入他国内政，可能进一步削弱国际法和主权原则。 能源地缘政治升级：委内瑞拉石油被直接纳入美国战略考量，可能引发与其他能源消费国和产油国的摩擦。 商业风险上升：即便美国石油公司潜在受益，但基础设施老化、投资周期长、政治风险高，现实收益高度不确定。 先例效应：若“拿走石油”逻辑被实践，可能成为未来大国干预资源型国家的危险范本。
