Trump Demands Control Over 50 Million Barrels of Venezuelan Oil

The administration is currently pressuring Caracas to offload the sanctioned crude directly to American docks. Trump confirmed he has ordered Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute the transfer immediately. This move marks an escalation in a broader campaign to dismantle Venezuela’s existing economic partnerships, with officials demanding the expulsion of China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba as a prerequisite for any future cooperation.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly told lawmakers in a private briefing that the U.S. intends to leverage Venezuela's current financial instability to force compliance. With state oil company PDVSA’s storage tanks reportedly at capacity and export routes to Asian markets effectively blocked by U.S. naval activity, the administration believes the country has only weeks of solvency remaining. Despite the aggressive rhetoric and the threat of further military intervention, there is no public indication that acting president Delcy Rodríguez has consented to the seizure of these natural resources.