President Donald Trump admitted that “only time will tell” how long the United States will rule Venezuela as it could take years to revive the country’s oil sector, according to a report.
At the request of The New York Times Asked whether US surveillance of the South American country would last three months, six months, a year or longer, Trump replied on Wednesday: “I would say much longer.”
“We will rebuild it in a very profitable way,” Trump said. “We are going to use oil and we are going to take oil. We are going to lower oil prices and we are going to give money to Venezuela, which they desperately need.”
On Wednesday, government officials announced that the US plans to indefinitely control Venezuelan oil sales as a means to stabilize the country’s economy and rebuild its neglected oil sector. Officials say the U.S. will preserve the country’s vast reserves to ensure that proceeds from sales are used “for the benefit of the American people and the Venezuelan people.”
The controversial statement also comes days after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on Saturday. The pair, extradited to New York, pleaded not guilty to four counts of narcoterrorism.
During the lengthy interview, Trump declined to say why he recognized Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, as the country’s interim leader instead of backing María Corina Machado, the opposition leader who led a successful 2024 election campaign against Maduro.
Without revealing many details, Trump noted that the US was “getting along very well” with Rodriguez’s government in Venezuela.
“Marco talks to her all the time,” he said. “I will tell you that we are in constant communication with her and the administration.”
On Tuesday, Trump shared a plan to refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil stuck in Venezuela under a US blockade. This indicated that Venezuela and Washington are willing to work together in the aftermath of Maduro’s capture.
However, Trump did not offer a timeline for that process Times“The oil will take a while.”
Trump reiterated that Maduro’s allies in Venezuela were working with the US
“They’re giving us whatever we need,” Trump said of the Venezuelan government.
The US Senate will consider a resolution on Thursday to block Trump from taking further military action against Venezuela without congressional approval.
The resolution, which needs a majority to pass, is the first test in Congress to see whether Republicans will publicly take a stand against Trump’s actions in Venezuela.
The measure was introduced by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va), Rand Paul (R-Ky), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif).
“This is not the surgical execution of an arrest warrant, it was much bigger than last Saturday’s, and it will be much bigger than today for years to come,” Kaine told reporters on Wednesday. “So this is something that shouldn’t happen without Congress.”
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