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United States President Donald Trump has said on his social media site that “Interim Authorities” in Venezuela would be providing 30 million to 50 million barrels of “High Quality” oil to the US at its market price.
The announcement came after officials in Caracas said at least 24 Venezuelan security officers were killed in the dead-of-night US military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro and send him to the United States to face drug charges.
Trump posted on Truth Social that the oil “will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States”. He said the money would be controlled by him as president but it would be used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the US.
Separately, the White House is organising an Oval Office meeting on Friday with oil company executives regarding Venezuela, with representatives of Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips expected to attend, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the plans.
Trump has said his administration will now “run” Venezuela policy and is pressing the country’s leaders to open its vast oil reserves to American energy companies.
With oil prices hovering around $56 per barrel, the deal President Trump unveiled on Tuesday night could potentially reach a staggering value of $2.8 billion, or approximately $4.1 billion in Australian dollars.
The US goes through an average of roughly 20 million barrels a day of oil and related products, so Venezuela’s transfer would be the equivalent of as much as two-and-a half days of supply, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Venezuela, despite holding the world’s largest confirmed crude oil reserves, manages to produce only about one million barrels daily. This figure pales in comparison to the United States, which boasted an average daily production of 13.9 million barrels in October.
In a heartfelt Instagram post, the military expressed, “Their spilled blood does not call for revenge, but rather for justice and resilience.”
The announcement came after Venezuelan attorney general Tarek William Saab said on Tuesday that “dozens” of officials and civilians were killed and that prosecutors would investigate the deaths in what he described as a “war crime”. He didn’t specify whether the estimate referred specifically to Venezuelans.
The death toll for Venezuelan security officials comes after Cuba’s government on Sunday announced 32 Cuban military and police officers working in Venezuela had died in the operation, prompting two days of mourning on the Caribbean island.
A video tribute to the slain Venezuelan security officials posted to the military’s Instagram features faces of many of those killed over black-and-white videos of soldiers, American aircraft flying over Caracas and armoured vehicles destroyed by the blasts.
“Their spilled blood does not cry out for vengeance, but for justice and strength,” the military wrote in an Instagram post.
“It reaffirms our unwavering oath not to rest until we rescue our legitimate President, completely dismantle the terrorist groups operating from abroad, and ensure that events such as these never again sully our sovereign soil,” the military wrote.
Trump on Tuesday also pushed back against Democratic criticism of this weekend’s military operation, noting his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden had also called for the arrest of the Venezuelan leader on alleged drug trafficking charges.
“You know, at some point, they should say, ‘You know, you did a great job. Thank you. Congratulations.’ Wouldn’t it be good?” Trump said.
“I would say that if they did a good job, their philosophies are so different. But if they did a good job, I’d be happy for the country. They’ve been after this guy for years and years and years.”
Trump’s latest comments came after US secretary of state Marco Rubio and other top officials briefed leaders in Congress on the Venezuela operation amid mounting concerns that the Republican administration is embarking on a new era of US expansionism without consultation with Congress or a clear vision for running the South American country.
After the briefing, House speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he does not expect the US to deploy troops to Venezuela, saying the US actions there are “not a regime change” operation.
Democratic leaders said the session lacked clarity about the Trump administration’s plans for Venezuela.
Americans are split about the capture of Maduro, with many still forming opinions, according to a poll conducted by The Washington Post and SSRS.
Nearly half, 45 per cent, were opposed to the US taking control of Venezuela and choosing a new government for the country. About nine in 10 Americans said the Venezuelan people should be the ones to decide the future leadership of their country.
US forces captured Maduro and his wife on early Saturday in a raid on a compound where they were surrounded by Cuban guards. Maduro’s deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, has been sworn in as Venezuela’s acting president.
In the days since Maduro’s ouster, Trump and top administration officials have raised anxiety around the globe that the operation could mark the start of a more expansionist US foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere.
Trump has said his administration will now “run” Venezuela policy and would press the country’s leaders to open its vast oil reserves to American energy companies.
On Sunday, Trump said he wasn’t ruling out an attack on Colombia and described its president, who’s been an outspoken critic of the US pressure campaign on Venezuela, as a “sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States”.
