In the chaotic lead-up to and aftermath of the United States’ January 3 military raid on Venezuela, a national security expert named Rebeccah Heinrichs appeared multiple times on Fox News to describe American aggression as a victory for both ordinary Venezuelans and the world — sometimes more than once a day.

In one January 8 appearance, Heinrichs told Fox News host Sean Hannity that the surprise attack, which the Trump administration says was motivated by a desire to seize the country’s oil fields, is “a boon for American industry” and would be “good for the Venezuelan people.” In another interview that same day, Heinrich argued on Fox Business that the military removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the U.S. has allowed a “friendly” government to take charge of the country.

In both appearances, Fox News identified Heinrichs as a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. That organization is a Washington, D.C.-based conservative think tank with a powerful billionaire backer who is not neutral about Trump’s military campaign against Venezuela.

The Hudson Institute is closely linked to Paul Singer, who has a personal fortune estimated by Forbes at $6.7 billion and donated $5 million to Trump’s Super PAC in 2024. Late last November, Singer bought Citgo, a U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-run oil company. As the Trump administration moves to control the flow of oil out of the Latin American nation, Singer is well-positioned for “a financial windfall,” according to reporting by Popular Information and other outlets.

DeSmog’s review of recent federal tax filings by the Paul E. Singer Foundation turned up a $100,000 donation to the Hudson Institute during the fiscal year ending November 30, 2024. The think tank has also shared personnel with Singer’s investment company and charity.

On December 11, just weeks after Singer’s purchase of Citgo, Heinrichs went on Bill Hemmer’s Fox News show to discuss the boarding of a Venezuelan oil tanker by U.S. troops. “The Trump administration is completely out of patience” with the Maduro government, she said.

Hemmer asked Heinrichs how far she thought U.S. military action could escalate: “Is this something that would suggest over the holidays we hear about special forces going into [Venezuela in] the dark of night? Can you see that happening?”

“We might hear about that, Bill,” she replied.

Heinrichs, the Hudson Institute, Fox News, and the Paul E. Singer Foundation did not respond to DeSmog’s requests for comment.

Singer’s Connection to Hudson

The 81-year-old Singer has emerged as one of the prime potential beneficiaries of Trump’s promises — backed up by U.S. military aggression — to revitalize Venezuela’s oil industry.

With his purchase of Citgo via his private equity firm, Singer gained control of three Gulf Coast refineries configured to process heavy Venezuelan crude oil. If Trump is successful in jump-starting the country’s lagging oil industry, “that would result in a cheaper feedstock, profits and a more valuable company, eventually,” according to Wall Street Journal reporter Benoît Morenne.

Over the years, Singer’s foundation has invested in a number of conservative think tanks that deny or question the science behind climate change, as well as pushing for regime change in Venezuela.

Since 2011, the charity has given more than $10 million to the Manhattan Institute, as well as other donations to groups including the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation. Singer has also donated to the Copenhagen Consensus Center, a think tank created by the climate crisis denier Bjørn Lomborg.   

Singer has particularly close links to the Hudson Institute, however, which as recently as 2014 published commentary stating — incorrectly — that more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would benefit agriculture by increasing plant growth. 

Heinrichs is not the only Hudson Institute expert who has loudly supported Trump’s military aggression against Venezuela this week.

On January 6, Hudson Institute senior fellow Aaron MacLean hosted an episode of the group’s School of War podcast devoted to discussion of Venezuela. MacLean expressed surprise at how “successful and casualty-free” the raid was, while the Venezuelan government has said that 100 people had died and that many or more were wounded.

On the federal tax filing that DeSmog reviewed, MacLean is named as senior director of the Paul E. Singer Foundation. This position is not mentioned on the Hudson Institute website. Hudson Institute adjunct fellow Mark Siegel, meanwhile, spent 16 years working at Elliott Management, Singer’s investment company.

Singer himself is listed as a member of the chairman’s advisory board in the institute’s 2021 annual report. He has helped host prominent Hudson Institute events, such as a 2018 gala honoring Nikki Haley, the first Trump administration’s ambassador to the United Nations at the time. 

Pushing for Pressure on Venezuela

The Hudson Institute has been making the case for greater U.S. pressure on Maduro’s government since before Trump returned to the White House. In August 2024, the think tank published a post urging the Biden administration “to assert itself” in the country and warned that if Maduro “does not relent, he should pay a price.”

On November 22, as Trump was escalating tensions in the Gulf of Mexico, Heinrichs discussed “getting a better regime in place” in Venezuela during an appearance on Fox News.

On November 28 she was again on Fox News, talking about the Trump administration’s military strikes on Venezuelan boats. “This is about the United States asserting itself and making sure that our peer adversaries don’t have a foothold,” she said, referring to countries, such as China and Russia, that have sought deeper economic relationships with Venezuela. 

The following week, on December 4, again on Fox, Heinrichs talked about “the possibility of land strikes in Venezuela.” 

These appearances were taking place as Singer’s investment firm was moving forward with its winning $5.89 billion bid for Citgo.

“Just a few weeks ago, a U.S. hedge-fund manager known for playing the long game in Latin America won a protracted battle for one of Venezuela’s crown jewels,” MarketWatch reported on January 5. “That bet now looks shrewd in light of the American military operation that captured Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro.”