Donald Trump has said Venezuelan authorities will turn over 30mn to 50mn barrels of sanctioned crude to the US, in a sign his administration is escalating its push to control the South American country’s oil sector.
Trump said on Tuesday the oil, worth about $3bn, would be sold at market prices and controlled by “the President of the United States of America” to ensure it benefited the people of Venezuela and the US.
“It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social social media platform. “I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately.”