Oil taken from seized Venezuelan tankers: Trump

Washington: The US has taken the oil that was on seized Venezuelan tankers and will process it in its own refineries, President Donald Trump said in a New York Post interview published Saturday.

"Let's put it this way - they don't have any oil. We take the oil," Trump told the newspaper. The oil is being refined in "various places" including Houston, he added.

The US military has seized seven Venezuela-linked tankers since the start of Trump's month-long campaign to control Venezuela's oil flows. On Tuesday, the President said his administration had taken 50 million barrels of oil out of Venezuela, and was selling some of it in the open market.



Tariff threat to canada

Meanwhile, Trump issued a renewed threat to Canada, saying he would impose a 100% tariff on the North American neighbour if it makes a trade deal with China and warned Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that a deal would endanger his country.

"China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life," he wrote on Truth Social. "If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the USA."

Carney during a recent visit to China called the Asian superpower a "reliable and predictable partner".

Trump suggested that China would try to use Canada to evade US tariffs. "If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a 'Drop Off Port' for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken."


Libya inks 25-yr oil deal

In a separate development, Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah said the north African nation signed a 25-year oil development agreement Saturday with France's TotalEnergies and US-based ConocoPhillips, involving more than $20 billion in foreign-financed investment.

Signed through Waha Oil Company, a subsidiary of Libya's state-run National Oil Corporation, the deal is aimed at boosting output capacity by up to 850,000 barrels per day and is expected to generate net revenues of over $376 billion, Dbeibah said in a post on X.