Venezuela Signals Willingness to Oil Deal as U.S. Claims Control Over Its Resources
Rokna Political Desk: Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has defended her government’s plans to open the country’s oil market to the United States, while U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance asserted that Washington would have full control over Venezuela’s oil supplies.
According to Rokna, citing The Guardian, Rodríguez said that the U.S. action to remove her predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, left a “stain” on relations between the two countries, but stressed that trading with the United States was not unusual or irregular. She added that Venezuela is open to energy cooperation where all parties benefit.
The Trump administration has moved to consolidate its control over Venezuelan oil, seizing two sanctioned tankers on Wednesday and announcing plans to oversee all future crude sales and manage the country’s petroleum exports globally. U.S. energy officials said they plan to market both stored crude and future Venezuelan production in international markets.
In a television interview, Vance stated that Venezuela will only be allowed to sell its oil if those sales serve U.S. national interests, saying that Washington “controls the energy resources” and will decide whether the Venezuelan regime can export crude.
On Tuesday, the United States announced an agreement giving it access to up to two billion dollars’ worth of Venezuelan crude, signaling that Venezuelan officials are responding to Trump’s demand to open the country’s oil sector to American companies or face possible further military intervention.
Alongside existing sanctions, the U.S. energy department has said that the only oil transported into and out of Venezuela will be through channels authorized under U.S. law and consistent with American security interests. Such extensive control over the world’s largest proven crude reserves could allow the Trump administration to influence global oil supplies and potentially affect prices.
Since the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces, President Trump has repeatedly pledged that the United States will “run” the country, despite pushback from Rodríguez.
On Wednesday, Trump stated that Venezuela would use revenue from any oil deal with Washington to purchase only American-made products.
Trump is scheduled to meet with the heads of major oil companies at the White House on Friday to discuss ways to increase Venezuela’s oil production. Reports indicate that U.S. oil executives are seeking strong legal and financial guarantees from Washington before committing significant investments in Venezuela’s oil industry.
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