Trump says he will control money from sale of Venezuelan oil

US PresidentDonald Trumpclaimed late Tuesday that Venezuela’s interim leadership will turn over to theUnited Statesas many as 50 million barrels of sanctionedoilto be sold at market price, part of a broader administration effort to seize the South American nation’s natural resources.

Trump, who authorized the US bombing ofVenezuelaand abduction of its president this past weekend,saidhe would control the proceeds of the sale – which could amount to $3 billion.

“Just straight-up piracy and extortion from the US president,” journalist Mehdi Hasanwrotein response.

Consistent with his administration’s conduct since the weekend attack that killed at least 75 people in Venezuela, Trump provided few details on how his scheme would work or how it would comply with domestic andinternational law, both of which the president has repeatedly disregarded and treated with contempt.

It’s also not clear that Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president and an ally of Nicolás Maduro, has agreed to Trump’s plan, which he announced onsocial mediaas his administrationworked to entice US oil giantsto take part in its effort to exploit the South American nation’s vast reserves.

Ahead of the US attack on Venezuela, theTrump administrationimposed a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers approaching or leaving Venezuela, pushing the country closer to economic collapse. TheNew York TimesnotedTuesday that Trump’s decision to “begin targeting tankers carrying Venezuelan crude to Asian markets hadparalyzed the state oil company’s exports.”

“To keep the wells pumping, the state oil company, known as PDVSA, had been redirecting crude oil into storage tanks and turning tankers idling in ports into floating storage facilities,” theTimesreported. During Trump’s firstWhite Houseterm, he banned US companies from working with PDVSA.

Trump wrote in his social media post Tuesday that the tens of millions of barrels of oil “will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.”

“I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately,” Trump wrote.

The Trump administration is also pushing Venezuela’s interim leadership to meet a series of US demands before it can pump more oil,ABC Newsreportedlate Tuesday. Trump has threatened to launch another attack on Venezuela, and target more of its politicians, if the country’s leadership doesn’t follow his administration’s orders.

According toABC, the Trump administration has instructed Venezuela to “kick out China, Russia, Iran andCubaand sever economic ties.”

“Second, Venezuela must agree to partner exclusively with the US on oil production and favor America when selling heavy crude oil,”ABCadded, citing unnamed sources. “According to one person, Secretary of StateMarco Rubiotold lawmakers in a private briefing on Monday that he believes the US can force Venezuela’s hand because its existing oil tankers are full. Rubio also told lawmakers that the US estimates that Caracas has only a couple of weeks before it will become financially insolvent without the sale of its oil reserves.”

This article, originally published by Common Dreams, is republished under a Creative Commons license.