President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Venezuela will purchase American products with revenue from its oil sales.
“I have just been informed that Venezuela is going to be purchasing ONLY American Made Products, with the money they receive from our new Oil Deal,” Trump said in a post his social media platform Truth Social.
The president said the purchases will include agricultural products, medicine, medical devices and equipment to improve Venezuela’s grid and energy facilities.
Trump said Tuesday that Venezuela would turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. after the overthrow President Nicolas Maduro. The oil will be sold at market price, the president said. The sales, if executed, would total more than $2 billion at oil’s Wednesday closing price.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday that the U.S. will control Venezuela’s oil sales indefinitely.
“We’re going to market the crude coming out of Venezuela — first this backed up stored oil and then indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace,” Wright said at Goldman Sachs’ annual energy conference in Miami.
“We need to have that leverage and that control of those oil sales to drive the changes that simply must happen in Venezuela,” the energy secretary said. The funds from the sales will be deposited in U.S. controlled accounts, Wright said.
“We’re not taking their oil,” the energy secretary told CNBC in an interview. The funds from the sales will be brought back to Venezuela, he said.