Washington, Jan 7 (UNI) President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday (local time) that Venezuela’s interim government will transfer between 30 and 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the United States in the wake of last weekend’s operation that resulted in the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The oil will be sold at market rates, with revenues placed under US government control.
“I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 million Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump said the proceeds would benefit both Venezuelan and American citizens.
“This oil will be sold at its market price, and the money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States,” Trump wrote.
In a Truth Social post, Trump directed Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute the plan without delay. The oil will be loaded onto storage vessels and shipped directly to US ports for offloading.
The announcement comes days after US forces conducted a “large-scale strike” on Saturday (January 3) and captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The ousted leader and his wife were brought to New York on Saturday evening, and Maduro is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
A new indictment filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York and shared by Attorney General Pam Bondi alleges that Maduro ran “state-sponsored gangs” and facilitated drug trafficking in the country.
During a press conference following the operation, Trump outlined plans for American oil companies to invest billions in rehabilitating Venezuela’s deteriorating oil infrastructure.
He characterised the country’s petroleum sector as a “total bust” resulting from years of mismanagement under the Maduro government.
