After Maduro's capture, Trump says Venezuela will deliver up to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to US at market price

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, January 6, via his social media platform that “Interim Authorities” in Venezuela will supply the United States with millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil following a dramatic US military operation in Caracas.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the oil arrangement comes in the wake of the military’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was flown to the United States to face federal drug and weapons charges. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, both pleaded not guilty in a New York federal court on Monday.

Trump wrote that the interim Venezuelan authorities will deliver “between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America.”



He added that the barrels “will be sold at their Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me … to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States,” and noted that the transfer will be executed by storage ships directly to US unloading docks. “I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately,” Trump said in his post. “It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.”

The announcement comes after officials in Caracas said at least 24 Venezuelan security officers were killed during the overnight US military operation to seize Maduro. Since the operation, Trump has signaled that US firms will enter Venezuela to help rebuild its battered oil sector, framing the move as beneficial to both American energy interests and Venezuelan citizens.

In response, Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has condemned the US actions, declaring a national week of mourning and rejecting what she described as foreign interference in Venezuelan sovereignty.