January 7, 2026
Trump Brags On Venezuela ‘Giving’ 50M Oil Barrels To U.S.
The efforts will be led by Energy Secretary Chris Wright who said the country will “indefinitely” sell Venezuelan oil following completion of sale.
President Donald Trump proved all the thoughts from lawmakers about the sudden beef with Venezuela being about oil to be true after announcing the country’s “immediate” transfer of 50 million barrels to the U.S.
Trump made the announcement Jan. 6, just three days after America woke up to news of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro being captured by U.S. authorities. Forbes reports that the interim authorities of Venezuela, led by Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, agreed to provide the oil barrels. Trump bragged about it with a post on his Truth Social platform.
“The oil will be sold at market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as the President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States,” he wrote.
The efforts will be led by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who said the country will “indefinitely” sell Venezuelan oil after the sale is completed. Wright mirrored sentiments of the president, saying the funds will be “deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S. government” and will then “flow back into Venezuela to benefit the Venezuelan people.”
“Instead of the oil being blockaded, as it is right now, we’re gonna let the oil flow … to United States refineries and around the world to bring better oil supplies, but have those sales done by the U.S. government,” he said while the U.S. took over a Russian-flagged tank with ties to Venezuela, according to Politico.
“We’re going to market the crude coming out of Venezuela, first this backed-up stored oil, and then indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace.”
Lawmakers assumed the seemingly random rift with the South American country was all about oil, since it has the world’s largest oil reserves, estimated at 300 billion barrels. While some voters would assume the seizure was about drugs, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) alleged early on that that wasn’t the case.
“It’s not about drugs. If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month,” she wrote on X.
“It’s about oil and regime change. And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs.”
Former Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris shared similar thoughts, speaking out for the people over Trump’s definition of democracy. “Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable. That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. We’ve seen this movie before. Wars for regime change or oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos, and American families pay the price,” she wrote.
“The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to. This is not about drugs or democracy. It is about oil and Donald Trump’s desire to play the regional strongman. If he cared about either, he wouldn’t pardon a convicted drug trafficker or sideline Venezuela’s legitimate opposition while pursuing deals with Maduro’s cronies.”
While Wright is scheduled to meet with oil industry executives at the White House, with Trump supervising, leaders and analysts warned of the cost of rebuilding Venezuela’s oil fields in full. Industry leaders also allege it will be challenging to get shareholders to make the massive investment when oil fields in other parts of the world offer easier returns.
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