Trump Administration Plans Much Broader Control of Venezuelan Oil Than Previously Stated

Just one day after President Trump seemed satisfied with receiving tens of millions of barrels of oil from Venezuela, top administration officials say control of the nation’s oil supply will be much broader. Sanctions relief and sale of the oil in American markets could soon come to fruition. Mr. Trump announced on Tuesday night that President Rodríguez — who has taken power following President Maduro’s capture — had agreed to send between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States. “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!” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday night. The tone of the message seemed to indicate a one-time deal between the country’s new leader and Mr. Trump, though his Cabinet secretaries made clear to lawmakers and other stakeholders on Wednesday that control of the oil will likely be much broader. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who is part of a small band of Cabinet secretaries charged with managing the situation, told attendees at a Goldman Sachs conference that it would be America — not Venezuela — charged with selling oil into the global market. “We are going to market the crude [oil] coming out of Venezuela … and then … going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace,” Mr. Wright said. He says the revenue from those sales will be placed in “accounts controlled by the U.S. government.”Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared that sentiment during their trip to Capitol Hill on Wednesday. They led briefings for members of the House and Senate who had questions not only about Venezuela, but about Mr. Trump’s vision of the entire western hemisphere, including a possible American takeover of Greenland. Mr. Rubio says that sanctions are playing a major role in keeping Venezuelan oil where it is for the time being, though he also hinted that those circumstances could change. “They are not generating any revenue from their oil right now. They can’t move it unless we allow it to move because we have sanctions — because we’re enforcing those sanctions,” the Secretary of State told reporters after the briefing. “This is tremendous leverage. We are exercising it in a positive way.”Democrats, meanwhile, expressed an extreme sense of frustration after the briefing at a lack of clarity about what comes next. The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Greg Meeks, says the unilateral control of oil revenues by the executive branch would be illegal because Congress controls federal spending. “No plan has been proposed — no plan. No talking of democracy at all. The president has an issue with the word democracy or concern about the people of Venezuela,” Mr. Meeks tells the Sun. “All he says is, ‘We’re going to take their oil. We’re going to sell their oil.’”“I walk away nervous and very concerned about the people of Venezuela,” he said. Mr. Meeks says he questioned the briefers about what oil revenues will be used for, though he did not get a substantive answer. Congressman Seth Moulton, a decorated Marine who served in the Iraq war, likened this Venezuela operation to the early days of toppling Iraq’s government. “I remember when the [Iraq] invasion was very successful. I was proud,” Mr. Moulton told reporters after the briefing. “I remember when George W. Bush said, ‘Mission Accomplished.’”“That’s not the end of that story, and I don’t think that’s going to be the end of this story either,” he said.

Trump Administration Plans Much Broader Control of Venezuelan Oil Than Previously Stated

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