Donald Trump has said Venezuela will be “turning over” 30 to 50m barrels of sanctioned oil to the US, as the South American country seeks to avoid deep cuts in output amid an ongoing blockade on exports imposed by Washington since mid-December.
“This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Trump said in a post online.
Venezuela has millions of barrels of oil loaded on tankers and in storage tanks that it has been unable to ship due to the blockade imposed by Trump, as part of the pressure campaign that culminated in the toppling of Nicolás Maduro who was seized from his country by US forces over the weekend.
“I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately,” Trump said, adding that the oil would be “taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.”
My first search was how much we used a day, and it came out to be 2-3 days. I’m sure it won’t be the last seizure we see, it’s going to be a rough year again
They know that most Americans won’t check it, will see 50m and think “whoa that’s a big number”