The US President Donald Trump has said the US is ready to sell Venezuelan oil to Russia, China and other countries. According to him, buyers will be able to receive oil in any volume.
This became known from the White House broadcast.
Trump stressed that the United States would be “open for business immediately” if Russia and China came for oil, as these countries are interested in large volumes of supplies. In total, the US president expects investments in Venezuela to reach at least $100 billion.
Under the US plan, a portion of Venezuelaʼs oil reserves, currently under the control of the interim administration in Caracas, would be transferred to the United States. It is expected to amount to between 30 million and 50 million barrels of high-quality oil.
These resources will be the first phase of a three-phase US plan to extract and sell Venezuelan oil, with the proceeds benefiting the people of Venezuela through US government-controlled accounts.
The US Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed that the sales would be indefinite, Politico reported. India is also ready to buy oil from Venezuela if it gets US approval, Reuters reported. Among the Indian buyers is Reliance, which has the worldʼs largest oil refinery and can process up to 1.4 million barrels of heavy oil per day.
Venezuelan Merey crude is heavy, but refineries, particularly in India, can process it efficiently. The United States wants these supplies to contribute to the stability of the global oil market and economic cooperation with countries in need of energy resources.
The US operation in Venezuela
At least seven explosions rocked Caracas, Venezuela, on the night of January 3. Several military installations in the country were targeted on the orders of US President Donald Trump, including the La Carlota and Fuerte Tiuna air bases, the La Guaira seaport, the home of the defense minister, and the El Volcán signal antenna.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has declared a state of emergency across the country. At least 11 sites are estimated to have been attacked, including the parliament building.
Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were arrested and deported to the United States. They were charged with narcoterrorism, cocaine importation, illegal possession of machine guns and explosives, and conspiracy against the United States.
The Supreme Court of Venezuela appointed Delcy Rodriguez as the interim head of state. And on the evening of January 3, Nicolas Maduro was taken to the federal detention center, the Metropolitan Detention Center, in New York.
On Monday, January 5, Venezuelan authorities issued a Saturday decree declaring a state of emergency and ordering police to detain anyone supporting the armed attack by the United States. The same day, the first trial of Maduro and his wife took place in New York.
As early as January 7, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said that 100 people had died in the US operation on January 3. Venezuelan officials said that a large part of Maduroʼs security service had been "killed in cold blood", and Cuba said that 32 of its military and intelligence officers had been killed in Venezuela.
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