There are historical precedents for one power taking control of another country’s oil, but they are rarer than headlines suggest, and they usually occurred under conditions of war, occupation, or overt regime subjugation. That’s what makes Venezuela a precedent. The closest analogue is Iran. In 1953, when then-Iranian PM Mohammad Mossadegh nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Britain and the U.S. responded by removing the government itself. After the coup, Iran’s oil did not return to Iranian control. It was reorganized…