Venezuela and Iran are strategic targets to control China's supply of crude oil. That's pretty much it.
USA can produce all the oil/energy it needs for itself. Everything else is about controlling the energy supply to adversaries.
USA can produce all the oil/energy it needs for itself. Everything else is about controlling the energy supply to adversaries.
But can the US do it? No, because it lacks refining capability for a lot of the kind of oil it produces and retrofitting existing refineries is a multi-year, very expensive project.