Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Jan 4: US President Donald Trump on Saturday said American oil companies would be allowed to move into Venezuela to tap its vast crude reserves following a US military operation that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.

Addressing a press conference, Trump said major US energy firms would invest billions of dollars to repair Venezuela’s dilapidated oil infrastructure and restart production. “We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” he said.

Trump added that the United States would sell “large amounts” of Venezuelan oil to other countries. “We’re in the oil business. We’re going to sell it to them,” he said, noting that US oil companies would bear the cost of rebuilding Venezuela’s oil facilities.
At the same time, Trump clarified that existing US sanctions would remain. “The embargo on all Venezuelan oil remains in full effect,” he said.

In a separate phone interview, Trump dismissed concerns over China’s oil interests, saying Washington would ensure uninterrupted supply. He said he shared “very good relations” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and insisted there would be no issues with Beijing. “They will get the oil. We will let people have the oil,” he said.

Venezuela has been under US oil sanctions since 2019 and currently produces around one million barrels of crude per day, much of it sold on the black market at steep discounts. Trump described Venezuela’s oil sector as a “total bust” despite the country holding the world’s largest proven crude reserves.

He said the proposed US “partnership” would make Venezuelans “rich, independent and safe,” adding that Venezuelans living in the United States would be “extremely happy” and would “not suffer any more.”

Trump made similar remarks in a television interview, stating that the US would be “very strongly involved” in Venezuela’s oil industry, though he did not provide details.

Venezuela’s proven oil reserves are estimated at about 303 billion barrels, accounting for nearly 17 per cent of global reserves.

Trump’s comments came hours after Washington announced it had captured Maduro in an overnight military operation. Maduro and his wife were reportedly taken from a military base and flown out of the country aboard a US warship, with Trump saying they were being taken to New York to face criminal charges.

He also said the US planned to run Venezuela temporarily until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” of power could be ensured.

As part of a weeks-long military pressure campaign ahead of the raid, US forces seized at least two oil tankers accused of violating sanctions.

Trump issued a warning to other Venezuelan political and military figures, saying “what happened to Maduro can happen to them.” He again accused Caracas of using oil revenues to fund “drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping,” allegations long denied by the Venezuelan government.

The US president said he watched the military operation in real time and hailed it as “extremely successful,” adding that American forces were prepared for further action if necessary.

While US oil major Chevron already operates in Venezuela under limited sanctions waivers, Trump’s remarks point to a much deeper American role in the country’s energy sector once political control is restructured. How and when US oil firms would enter Venezuela, and under what legal framework, remains unclear.