President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Venezuela’s interim authorities will transfer between 30 million and 50 million barrels of crude oil to the United States, marking a major development after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
Trump stated in a social media post that the “High Quality, Sanctioned Oil” will be sold at market price, and that he would control the revenue “to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.” He added that Energy Secretary Chris Wright had been instructed to execute the plan immediately, with oil transported via storage ships directly to U.S. unloading docks.
The announcement briefly pushed U.S. crude futures down 1.3 percent to $56.39 per barrel as traders digested the news.
This move comes days after Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were brought to New York following their capture in Caracas. Both appeared in U.S. District Court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to federal charges, including drug trafficking. During the arraignment, Maduro called himself a “prisoner of war” and said he had been “kidnapped.”
The White House is planning a meeting on Friday with executives from Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and other U.S. oil companies to discuss large-scale investments in Venezuela’s energy sector. Trump has indicated that these companies could invest billions to rehabilitate Venezuela’s aging oil infrastructure.
Chevron remains the only major U.S. company currently operating in Venezuela, while ConocoPhillips and Exxon lost their Venezuelan assets during nationalization under former President Hugo Chávez in the mid-2000s.
The transfer of Venezuelan oil represents a significant shift in U.S. policy toward the South American nation’s energy resources and signals Washington’s intent to secure access while leveraging revenue management for strategic and humanitarian purposes.
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