Trump Flags Venezuela Oil Deal Soon, Says $4 Billion Crude Already En Route

U.S. President Donald Trump has signalled a sweeping expansion of American involvement in Venezuela’s oil sector, saying Washington will decide which U.S. companies operate in the country and that the United States will be a major beneficiary of rising crude output.

Speaking during a meeting with U.S. oil executives, Trump said Venezuela was 'going to be very successful' and that Americans would gain from increased oil extraction. "We will make the decision on which companies will go into Venezuela," he said, adding that without U.S. intervention, China or Russia would have stepped in to dominate the country’s energy resources.

Trump said around $4 billion worth of Venezuelan oil is already en route to the United States, with seized oil cargoes to be sold through what he described as an 'energy deal.' He added that a previously seized oil tanker is now heading back to Venezuela and that further agreements could be finalised 'today or shortly after,' with another meeting on Venezuelan oil scheduled for next week.

The U.S. president also said he would soon meet various Venezuelan officials and indicated Washington was prepared to work with Venezuelan leaders on security guarantees. Referring to Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez, Trump said she "seems to be an ally right now."

At the same time, Trump issued sharp warnings on Iran, saying the U.S. was closely monitoring unrest in the country and would intervene forcefully if authorities resorted to violence. "If they start killing people as they have in the past, we will get involved," he said.

In Caracas, Rodríguez has taken a dual-track approach — denouncing U.S. actions while seeking renewed engagement. According to Bloomberg, Venezuela’s government has accused Washington of orchestrating an 'illegitimate and illegal criminal aggression' in the seizure of former president Nicolás Maduro, an operation it claims led to more than 100 civilian and military deaths.

Despite the accusations, Bloomberg reported that Rodríguez is pursuing an exploratory diplomatic process with the U.S., combining public defiance with gestures of appeasement. The government has freed some local and foreign prisoners as a goodwill move, with the future of Venezuela’s oil industry emerging as a central pillar of the evolving Trump–Rodríguez engagement.