BREAKING: Venezuela’s Government Caves, Agrees To Trump’s Oil Demands

United States with 30-50 million barrels of oil to be sold at market price. The announcement comes just days after President Trump vowed to revitalize the nation’s oil industry to the benefit of both the United States and the people of Venezuela.

“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,” the president announced in a Truth Social post. “This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!”

Trump added that he had directed Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute the plan immediately, which will involve taking the oil from storage ships and transporting it directly to unloading docks in the United States.

The announcement comes just three days after U.S. forces arrested Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a daring pre-dawn raid in Venezuela’s capital of Caracas. Maduro has pleaded not guilty to charges of narco-terrorism, and more, in New York federal court.

During a press conference after the operation, President Trump stated that the United States would be “running” Venezuela while an interim government is established. He also stated that the U.S. will be playing a key role in revitalizing the nation’s oil industry after building it up in the preceding decades.

“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.

This plan, Trump said, aims to repair the “badly broken infrastructure” and generate revenue for Venezuela, with Trump indicating that American firms would invest heavily to restore operations and ensure economic benefits flow back to the Venezuelan people, as well as the United States.

American firms like ExxonMobil (formerly Creole) and ConocoPhillips played a major role in developing Venezuela’s oil industry, investing millions in exploration and production under lease agreements. In 1976, under President Carlos Andrés Pérez, Venezuela nationalized its oil sector, compensating U.S. companies with about $1 billion for expropriated assets, which was largely accepted at the time.

However, in 2007, under President Hugo Chávez, the government seized control of major Orinoco Belt projects without adequate compensation, affecting stakes held by ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, and others. This led to international arbitration where ExxonMobil won $1.6 billion in 2014, and ConocoPhillips pursued ongoing claims for billions more.

Trump and key advisors like Stephen Miller have framed these 2007 actions as “the largest recorded theft of American wealth and property” in the nation’s history. “They took all of our oil not that long ago. And we want it back. They illegally took it,” the president said during a recent press briefing.

Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, President Trump announced a complete blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers that had been operating under “shadow fleets,” which often deploy fake flags and location information. The U.S. had seized multiple vessels prior to the Maduro operation, while dozens more remained stranded in Venezuelan ports.