Trump announces that Venezuela will deliver between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil

On Tuesday afternoon, US President Donald Trump announced that Venezuela will soon deliver a significant shipment of crude oil to the United States.

The announcement comes just days after the successful US operation on Saturday that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro — and after repeated statements from Trump signaling his intention to secure access to Venezuelan oil.

Venezuela’s oil industry to undergo revamp

Posting on his official Truth Social account, Trump wrote: “I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities of Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION barrels of high‑quality, sanctioned oil to the United States of America. This oil will be sold at market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States!”

He continued: “I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan immediately. [The oil] will be taken by storage ships and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have both emphasized that, at this stage, cooperation from acting president Delcy Rodríguez and all members of Venezuela’s Interim Authorities is essential.

Venezuela holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world, though decades of mismanagement have left the country producing only a fraction of its potential output. With this new agreement, Rodríguez and the Venezuelan government are signaling their willingness to work with the Trump administration — a development that clearly aligns with US strategic interests.

Trump’s remarks gain traction

On Sunday, during a flight aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters: “We’re going to need major investment from oil companies to rebuild the infrastructure. The oil companies are ready to go in. They’re going to go in, they’re going to rebuild the infrastructure. We built it originally many years ago, and it was taken from us.”

He added: “We’re focused on fixing the country and getting it back on track, because the country is a disaster. It has been terribly mismanaged. Oil barely flows — at a very low level. Even if it were poorly run, it should still be producing more revenue, more oil than what they’re producing now.”

To close his remarks, Trump said of the oil companies: “They’re going to fix the infrastructure. They’re going to invest money. We’re not going to invest anything. We’re simply going to take charge of the country. We’re going to take care of it.”

With Tuesday’s announcement that Venezuela will send millions of barrels of oil to the United States, Trump’s message gains further backing — though his administration will now face the challenge of delivering on its promise to reshape Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.

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