Trump Seeks to Cut Out China With US Stranglehold on Venezuelan Oil

President Donald Trump ramped up his efforts to establish full control over Venezuela’s oil industry. After American forces captured leader Nicolas Maduro over the weekend, the South American country will relinquish as much as 50 million barrels of oil to the US, worth roughly $2.8 billion at the current market price, Trump wrote in a social media post. Proceeds from selling the oil would be used to benefit both countries, he said.

The announcement, furnished with few other details, rattled global oil markets, with both Brent and West Texas Intermediate extending losses. Oil has lost ground since the start of the new year, following its worst annual slump since 2020, as the market continues to digest the fallout from Maduro’s ouster and what that means for oil exports and the country’s energy industry.