In a Saturday morning military raid ordered by President Trump, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. After Maduro was apprehended and transported to New York to face criminal charges, Trump announced that the U.S. would "run" Venezuela for the indefinite future.

The extraordinary attack, which legal experts said violated U.S. and international law, created a financial windfall for a prominent Trump-supporting billionaire, investor Paul Singer.

In 2024, Singer, an 81-year-old with a net worth of $6.7 billion, donated $5 million to Make America Great Again Inc., Trump's Super PAC. Singer donated tens of millions more in the 2024 cycle to support Trump's allies, including $37 million to support the election of Republicans to Congress. He also donated an undisclosed amount to fund Trump's second transition.

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Since Trump was first elected in 2016, Singer has met personally with Trump at least four times. "Paul just left and he's given us his total support," Trump declared after meeting with Singer at the White House in February 2017. "I want to thank Paul Singer for being here and for coming up to the office. He was a very strong opponent, and now he's a very strong ally." In 2016, Singer initially supported Marco Rubio, who is now Trump's Secretary of State.

In November 2025, Singer acquired Citgo, the U.S.-based subsidiary of Venezuela's state-run oil company. Singer, through his private investment firm, Elliott Investment Management, bought Citgo for $5.9 billion. The sale to Amber Energy, a subsidiary of Elliott Investment Management, was forced by creditors of Venezuela after the country defaulted on its bond payments.

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