BREAKING: Venezuela to transfer 30-50 million barrels of oil to US to be sold at market price, Trump announces

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that interim authorities in Venezuela will transfer between 30 and 50 million barrels of high-quality licensed oil to the United States and that proceeds will be controlled by him to benefit both Venezuela and the United States.

The oil will be shipped directly to US ports for storage and unloading, Trump said in a the post to Truth Social.

“I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America,” Trump wrote. “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! I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately. It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.” 

The announcement follows a seismic shift in US policy after American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Trump also said following the capture that US oil companies would take control of Venezuela’s oil reserves and invest billions to overhaul the nation’s energy sector. 

“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country," Trump told reporters on Saturday.