Updated Jan. 6, 2026, 8:01 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump said Venezuela will be “turning over” to the U.S. between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil after his administration captured the country’s president and began pressuring the new leadership.
“This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Trump said in a Jan. 6 social media post.
The U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in an extraordinary military operation early Jan. 3, bringing him to New York City to face drug-trafficking charges. Maduro pleaded not guilty in federal court on Jan. 5. Delcy Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president, has been sworn in as the country’s interim president.
Trump has focused on Venezuela’s oil resources in the aftermath of the U.S. military operations. In a speech after Maduro was captured, Trump said Venezuela “stole” oil, a claim some international energy law experts refute.
“We built Venezuela oil industry with American talent, drive and skill,” Trump said. “And the socialist regime stole it from us during those previous administrations, and they stole it through force. This constituted one of the largest thefts of American property in the history of our country.”
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world and once had multiple American oil companies operating there, but Chevron is the only major U.S. oil company still there after former leader Hugo Chavez pushed to nationalize the country’s oil industry.
Trump told NBC on Jan. 5 that it could take less than 18 months to revive Venezuelan oil production, with the U.S. potentially reimbursing American oil companies for their investment.
“A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent, and the oil companies will spend it, and then they’ll get reimbursed by us, or through revenue,” Trump said.
In his Jan. 6 announcement Trump said Venezuelan oil “will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.”
Energy Secretary Chris Wright is coordinating the effort, Trump added. Wright is meeting with oil executives in Miami this week.
Contributing: Erin Mansfield
