🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump has announced that Venezuela will be “turning over” around $2 billion worth of crude oil from Venezuela to the US. This major agreement would reroute cargoes originally headed to China while allowing Venezuela sidestep deeper oil production cuts.

“This Petroleum will be sold at its prevailing market price, and that money will be overseen by me, as President of the United States of America, to make certain it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Trump wrote in an social media post.

Officials in Caracas and the state company PDVSA have not commented on the alleged agreement.

Background: An Embargo and an Arrest

Venezuela currently has millions of barrels of oil aboard tankers and in onshore tanks that it has been prevented from shipping due to a naval blockade ordered by the Trump administration. This pressure campaign culminated in the removal of Nicolás Maduro, who was captured by United States troops over the recent weekend.

While top Venezuelan officials have labeled Maduro’s capture a kidnapping and alleged the US of trying to steal the country’s enormous oil reserves, Tuesday’s declaration is seen as a clear indicator that the current government is complying with Trump’s requirement to grant access to US oil companies or face the risk of additional military action.

Parallel Ambitions: Acquiring Greenland

At the same time, Trump and his aides have stated they are “examining” a “spectrum of choices” in an attempt to obtain Greenland. A White House statement on Tuesday noted that using the US military to do so is “on the table”.

“President Trump has made it well known that securing Greenland is a key national security objective of the United States, and it’s vital to counter our opponents in the Arctic region,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The president and his team are evaluating a series of options to pursue this significant foreign policy goal, and of course, using the US military is one available path at the commander-in-chief’s discretion.”

Leavitt’s comments came as the heads of state of major European powers voiced resistance against Trump’s longstanding desire to seize the Arctic territory.

Additional Major Updates

• Family Assistance Blocked: The Trump administration is blocking more than $10 billion in federal childcare and family assistance funds to several states including California and New York. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cited concerns about fraud and misuse.
• Sealed Records: The Department of Justice has released less than 1% of the so-called Epstein files, a court filing has shown. Democrats have escalated criticism of the administration’s “lawlessness” for keeping records under seal.
• Immigration Crackdown in Minnesota: The administration has deployed more immigration agents to Minnesota, in an extension of escalating attacks against the state and its immigrant populations. Immigration officials called it the agency’s “most significant crackdown so far”.
• PM’s Strong Rebuke: Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, urged Trump to give up his “dreams of taking over” Greenland and accused the US of “entirely unacceptable” rhetoric. The Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, previously warned that a US attack on a NATO ally would mean the “end” of the military alliance.
• Focus Changed: Democratic senators stated in a letter that the Trump administration has stopped trying to combat trafficking and cartel activity as it redirects thousands of law enforcement personnel to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Financial Impact

The fallout of the US intervention in Venezuela sent shockwaves through financial markets. The price of oil fell after Trump’s announcement, with traders anticipating more supply hitting the market. West Texas Intermediate fell by 1.6%, while the international benchmark, Brent crude, also decreased.

Criticism from Lawmakers

The idea of an invasion against Greenland met with swift bipartisan pushback from US legislators. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego vowed to introduce a resolution to block such a move. GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson said he did not think military action was “the right course”, and other Republican senators warned it could lead to the “demise” of NATO.

The international diplomatic landscape remains uncertain, with the US simultaneously pursuing high-stakes confrontations in South America and the Arctic while enacting divisive domestic policy shifts.