Workers from Venezuela's publicly owned oil company, PDVSA, prepare to drill. Photo: PDVSA/File photo.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced on social media that Venezuela would “turn over” a massive quantity of oil to his country.
“I am pleased to announce that the interim authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 million barrels of high quality, sanctioned oil, to the United States of America,” Trump wrote.
The announcement comes three days after the US regime launched criminal strikes against several locations in Venezuela, culminating in the abduction of Constitutional President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who is an elected deputy to the National Assembly.
Venezuela’s self-appointed "Orange Viceroy" claims he will rob us of 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil. Let’s see how that delusion translates into reality. 🇻🇪 https://t.co/qzxNMpfBhR
— Orinoco Tribune (@OrinocoTribune) January 7, 2026
Trump, who since last December has openly emphasized his determination to illegally seize Venezuela’s natural resources in a blatantly neocolonialist manner, surprisingly added that he will personally “control” the “money” from the oil. Experts claim that the announcement is directed at his electoral base, which has undergone severe splintering since the military attacks against Venezuela.
Analysts note that the Epstein files scandal, along with growing concerns over US civil unrest due to the Trump regime’s militaristic policies on US soil, has forced this pivot. Analysts suggest that the statement reveals, once again, that the true nature of the US military attacks was not a “war on drugs” but a mission to control Venezuelan oil.
Under international law, there are no precedents for such a colonialist announcement. The most similar instance involves Saddam Hussein’s Iraq; however, that was the result of UN Security Council Resolution 986 in 1995. No such legal framework exists today, as UN experts have condemned the US blockade and attacks against Venezuela as illegal.
The controversial ruler of the US regime also suggested that the revenue from the oil-stealing operation will be managed by “provisional authorities,” whom he did not clearly identify. However, Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, has made it clear that she will not accept orders from anyone outside of Venezuela.
The unity between the Chavista leadership and the people has been demonstrated in recent days following determined Constitutional decisions and massive Chavista rallies in support of the government and Venezuela’s ongoing Bolivarian and socialist project.
In response, on Wednesday, the Venezuelan publicly owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), announced that it is in advanced negotiations with the United States for the sale of oil. The company specified that these talks are governed by existing trade agreements between the two nations.
For years, Venezuela has repeatedly requested that the US resume normal oil trade transactions and lift the illegal sanctions launched by the US and its vassals over a decade ago. Just hours before his abduction, in fact, President Maduro reiterated Venezuela’s willingness to reach oil agreements with the US during an interview with Ignacio Ramonet.
The PDVSA statement emphasized that the approach follows business models similar to those that the petroleum industry maintains with multinational corporations such as Chevron.
Throughout the recent naval blockade of the country, Venezuela continued to honor its contractual obligations with Chevron, a US-based multinational that purchases oil from Venezuela through a license granted by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). This license effectively permits Chevron to operate despite the illegal US economic coercive measures (euphemistically referred to as “sanctions”). The operation is strictly commercial, resting on three pillars: legality, transparency, and mutual benefit.
The full unofficial translation of the statement follows:
PDVSA is making progress in negotiations for the sale of crude oil to the United States
Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), reports that it is currently in negotiations with the United States for the sale of oil within the framework of existing trade relations between the two countries.
This process is carried out under schemes similar to those in place with international companies, such as Chevron, and is based on a strictly commercial transaction with criteria of legality, transparency, and benefit for both parties.
PDVSA reaffirms its commitment to continue building alliances that promote national development for the benefit of the Venezuelan people and contribute to global energy stability.
The ongoing naval blockade has jeopardized Venezuela’s oil output. Storage capacity is reaching its limit; if it peaks, oil rigs will be forced to shut down. Such a scenario would damage production, but the greatest impact would be the damage to future capacity. Reopening a shut-in rig requires massive investments and significant time.
US naval blockade continues
Also on Wednesday, US imperialism tightened its naval oil blockade by boarding two tankers—one in the North Atlantic and another in the Caribbean. The Russian oil tanker Marinera was boarded “outside the territorial waters of any state” by US naval forces. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that communication with the vessel was subsequently lost.
Images show a US helicopter flying dangerously close to the vessel. The owner, BurevestMarin, reported that the civilian ship had been pursued by the US Coast Guard and Navy. This is the same Bella 1 tanker that the US regime was in “hot pursuit” of in the Caribbean since December. Moscow asserted that on December 24, 2025, authorities granted the Marinera a temporary permit to sail under the Russian flag, in accordance with international law.
The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed concern over the “disproportionate attention” paid to a vessel located 4,000 kilometers off the US coast. “We hope that Western countries, which declare their commitment to freedom of navigation on the high seas, will begin to focus on themselves,” the ministry stated, warning that it might retaliate against US vessels.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense reported the illegal boarding of an allegedly flagless tanker, the M/T Sophia, in international waters. “The intercepted vessel … was conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea. The Coast Guard is escorting it to the US for its final destination,” the Southern Command reported on social media.
Since December 2025, the US military has seized at least four oil tankers:
• Skipper: Intercepted December 10, 2025, in the Caribbean with 1.9 million barrels of oil.
• Centuries: Boarded and seized on December 20, 2025.
• Marinera (formerly Bella 1): Seized January 7, 2026, between Iceland and Scotland after a weeks-long pursuit.
• M/T Sophia: Seized January 7, 2026, in the Caribbean. It was carrying approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude.
Greenland next
US threats against Greenland have once again generated international tension after President Donald Trump’s regime declared it could resort to military force to take control of the world’s largest island.
The announcement, broadcast from the White House, raised alarms in the European Union and Canada, countries that have repeatedly expressed their support for the sovereignty of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, which is a NATO member.
In the same statement, the US administration confirmed that possession of Greenland would have a strategic objective—”to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region”—which demonstrates a military interest. However, many analysts have pointed out that the US also may wish to control Greenland’s significant untapped natural resources for its own benefit.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/SL
