President Donald Trump said Monday that U.S. sales of Venezuela’s oil have generated more than $13 billion since early January. He linked that figure to the period following the reported capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro on January 3 and said the proceeds had effectively covered the cost of the conflict he referenced.
The statement puts renewed focus on how Washington is handling Venezuelan oil under Trump’s administration. Based on the report, the White House is presenting the sales as both a financial and strategic outcome, using energy revenue to argue that its approach has produced a major return.
The announcement also came against a changing oil-market backdrop. The snippet notes that oil prices were retreating on hopes in the broader market, even as the United States was said to be intensifying its efforts related to Venezuela.
With only a limited portion of the original report available, the central development is Trump’s claim that U.S. Venezuela oil sales have crossed the $13 billion mark. That figure is likely to draw scrutiny from both energy markets and political observers as attention stays fixed on Washington’s Venezuela policy.
