U.S. President Donald Trump said Venezuela’s interim government will deliver up to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States, with proceeds from the sale “controlled by me” as president to benefit people in both countries. He announced the move would be executed immediately by Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
“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 posted on his Truth Social platform, adding that the oil would be sold at market price and that he would oversee the funds’ use.
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Trump has also suggested Washington would help rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil infrastructure in ways that could benefit U.S. majors such as Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, which were hit by nationalization under former President Hugo Chávez, and Chevron, which has continued to operate there. Senior U.S. oil executives are expected to visit the White House as early as tomorrow to discuss potential investments in Venezuela, according to three people familiar with the planning.
The announcement comes amid a volatile transition in Caracas. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez insisted no foreign power is governing Venezuela after Trump said the United States would “run” the country during the transition following the ouster of her predecessor. Speaking days after U.S. special forces seized Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a raid in Caracas preceded by airstrikes, Rodríguez said: “The government of Venezuela is in charge in our country, and no one else.”
“There is no foreign agent governing Venezuela,” she added, while casting herself as willing to cooperate on some fronts but resolute in defending sovereignty. “We are a people that does not surrender, we are a people that does not give up.”
Rodríguez has sought to project unity with Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, hardliners seen as key powerbrokers in the Maduro administration and among security forces and pro-government paramilitaries that have patrolled the streets since the former president’s capture.
Venezuela’s military released its first confirmation of losses from the U.S. strikes, publishing a list of 23 troops killed, including five generals. Top ally Cuba separately reported 32 dead Cuban military personnel, including two colonels and a lieutenant colonel, many of them members of Maduro’s security detail. Venezuelan authorities have not yet confirmed civilian casualties.
In Caracas, thousands of supporters of Maduro and Flores, including Cabello, marched to demand their release, some carrying figurines of Maduro’s “Super Moustache” alter ego and wearing red caps with the slogan “No war, yes peace.”
Maduro and Flores appeared in a New York courtroom on Monday, where they pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged the United States to ensure they receive a fair trial.
The political positioning is sharpening. Opposition leader María Corina Machado, sidelined by the U.S. in the post-Maduro transition, warned Rodríguez “is one of the main architects of persecution and corruption” and “not an individual that could be trusted by international investors.” Trump has warned Rodríguez will pay “a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro” if she does not align with the U.S. agenda.
Venezuela’s constitution stipulates that after a president is formally declared absent — a step that could come after six months — elections must be held within 30 days. Machado told Fox News she is confident the opposition, which claims to have won the 2024 vote Maduro declared his third term, would take “over 90% of the votes.”
Trump’s oil plan, if carried out as stated, could reshape both Venezuela’s battered energy sector and U.S. energy markets in the near term, while testing Rodríguez’s ability to navigate between external pressure and domestic hardliners. Much will turn on how quickly the interim government, U.S. agencies and oil companies can move — and whether Venezuela’s fractured institutions can sustain a transition under intense international scrutiny.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
