Donald Trump revealed that the U.S. may take control of Venezuela and its oil revenues for several years, stressing that the U.S. works very well with Venezuela's interim government.
On 8 Jan 2025 GMT+7, The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump gave them an interview lasting nearly two hours, during which he hinted that the U.S. might oversee Venezuela and control the country's oil income for many years.
"Only time will tell how long the U.S. will oversee Venezuela," Trump said. When asked if it would be 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, or longer, Trump replied, "I think it will be much longer than that."
"We will restore that country in a way that is enormously profitable," Trump said about Venezuela. "We are going to utilize the oil, and we are going to manage the oil resources. We are bringing oil prices down, and we will provide money to Venezuela, which they urgently need right now."
Trump added that the U.S. has a very good working relationship with Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez’s government, who has been a close loyalist to former president Nicolás Maduro for a long time and once served as vice president until Maduro was detained by the U.S. last weekend.
"They are providing everything we see as necessary," Trump said referring to the Venezuelan government. On Tuesday, the U.S. leader revealed plans to refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil, which had previously been held in Venezuela under U.S. sanctions.
However, Trump declined to answer why he decided not to empower the Venezuelan opposition, which Washington had previously recognized as the legitimate winners of the 2024 elections.
Additionally, Trump appeared to soften his stance toward Colombia by inviting Colombian leader Gustavo Petro to visit Washington, after previously threatening military action and calling Petro "sick."
Trump posted on social media: "It was a great honor to speak with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the drug situation and other conflicts we've had. I appreciated his call and tone and look forward to meeting him soon."
Petro described the initial phone call with Trump as friendly, while The New York Times reported the conversation lasted about an hour and seemed to reduce the immediate risk of U.S. military action.
Trump is scheduled to meet with executives of major oil companies at the White House on Friday (9 Jan) to discuss ways to increase oil production in Venezuela. Sources close to the matter said representatives from three leading U.S. oil firms—ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron—will attend the meeting.
.cna