Speaking to reporters from the New York Times for over two hours, U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that there was no timeline for a U.S. exit from a form of stewardship over Venezuela. He told reporters that the U.S. could oversee Venezuela “for years,” signalling an open-ended intervention following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. “Only time will tell,” Trump said when pressed on an exit timeline, adding, when asked for an estimate among months to a year, “I would say much longer.”
He argued that Washington’s control of Venezuela’s oil exports would be mutually beneficial: “We will rebuild it in a very profitable way…. We’re going to be taking oil. We’re getting oil prices down, and we’re going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need.” Trump declined to commit to elections or clarify conditions that might trigger U.S. troops on the ground. “I really wouldn’t want to tell you that,” he said. “As you know, we’re getting along very well with the administration that is there right now.… They’re giving us everything that we feel is necessary.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump and his advisors are considering a plan that would give the U.S. sweeping control over Venezuela’s state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PdVSA), allowing Washington to market most of the country’s crude and to potentially steer oil prices toward Trump’s favored value of $50 a barrel. The strategy would prevent Russian and Chinese access to Venezuelan oil. The petrochemical industry isn’t necessarily happy about the plan, as lower oil prices could drive some oil producers out of business. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The American energy industry and … the Venezuelan people are going to hugely benefit from the President’s control of Venezuela’s oil,” while Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the U.S. would sell Venezuelan crude “indefinitely.”
