Trump : tells international oil and gas executives, “You’re dealing with us directly, not Venezuela.”
Trump: Top oil and gas executives met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, where he gave them assurances about security and safety in Venezuela. claiming that the US will do “everything” over the assets that were “stolen” after using American ingenuity to build the Venezuelan oil sector.
Trump expressed his joy at having over two dozen of the world’s largest and most esteemed oil and gas executives visit the White House.
The US president said that Maduro’s exit allowed for a fantastic future for both countries and that the economies of the two main Western hemisphere energy powers will become more integrated.
“You’re dealing with us directly, not Venezuela,” Trump assured the country’s top security and safety officials. It is a completely different Venezuela; you are completely protected and secure.
He said, “Decades ago, the United States built Venezuela’s oil industry with American skill, technology, know-how, and dollars… but those assets were stolen from us, and we had Presidents that did nothing about it… now, we’re doing everything about it.”
He also said, “Our giant oil companies are spending at least $100B of their money, not the government’s money… to rebuild the capacity and the infrastructure necessary.”
As Trump met with the top oil and gas CEOs, he was accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Vice President JD Vance, among other senior members of his cabinet.
The operation in Venezuela, VP Vance said that it is “going to make our country richer, it’s going to make our country more powerful, it’s going to make our country safer, and it’s going to lead to the further decline of drug overdose deaths in the United States of America an amazing thing.”
Trump told reporters that businesses entering Venezuela will be guaranteed protection.
Regarding Venezuela’s relationship with Interim President Delcy Rodriguez, Trump said, “At the moment, they appear to be an ally, and I believe that will continue.” China and Russia are not welcome there.
Following Trump’s “large-scale strike” in Venezuela on Saturday that resulted in the detention of its leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, the meeting takes place in the context of a larger US effort to leverage Venezuela’s enormous oil reserves and transform the country’s energy environment.
In a coordinated effort by US law enforcement and intelligence services, Maduro and Flores were airlifted out of the nation. They are now on trial after being charged with “drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies” in the Southern District of New York.
Trump said, “We’re in charge,” after the operation, but Maduro’s longstanding vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as the acting president on Monday, indicating that the United States would keep a tight eye on events in Venezuela.