Donald Trump has claimed the United States will control Venezuela and its vast oil reserves for years, receiving ‘full cooperation’ from the interim administration of Delcy Rodríguez. In an interview with the New York Times, the US president said Caracas was giving Washington ‘everything that we feel is necessary’ and that the US would remain a political overlord there for an indefinite period.
‘We will rebuild it in a very profitable way,’ Trump said. ‘We’re going to be using oil, and we’re going to be taking oil.’ Asked how long the White House would demand direct oversight of Venezuela, he replied: ‘Only time will tell.’ When pressed if it would be longer than a year, he said: ‘I would say much longer.’
Rodríguez defended plans to open Venezuela’s oil market to Washington, saying it was ‘not unusual or irregular’ to trade with the US. Meanwhile, her brother Jorge Rodríguez announced the release of ‘a significant number of Venezuelan and foreign individuals’ to promote national unity. However, human rights groups urged caution, noting that previous release promises had only been partially fulfilled.
US forces seized two sanctions-hit tankers this week, and the administration announced it would manage all sales of Venezuela’s future crude production. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the US would be ‘the dominant force there’, but added that there could be room for China in commercial relations as long as the US remained the primary partner.
Vice-President JD Vance stated that Venezuela would only be allowed to sell its oil if it served America’s national interest: ‘We control the energy resources, and we tell the regime: you’re allowed to sell the oil so long as you serve America’s national interest, you’re not allowed to sell it if you can’t serve America’s national interest.’
