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Ex-President Donald Trump has declared that Venezuela will be “handing over” around $2 billion worth of Venezuelan oil to the United States. This key deal would reroute cargoes originally headed to China while potentially helping Venezuela avoid further oil production cuts.

“This Oil will be sold at its current market value, and that proceeds will be overseen by me, as the President of the United States of America, to make certain it is used to help the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Trump wrote in an social media post.

Authorities in Venezuela and the state-owned firm PDVSA have not commented on the alleged agreement.

Background: A Blockade and a Capture

Venezuela currently has huge volumes of oil loaded on tankers and held in storage that it has been unable to ship due to a embargo ordered by the Trump administration. This campaign of pressure reached its peak with the toppling of Nicolás Maduro, who was seized by US forces over the weekend.

While high-ranking Venezuelan officials have called Maduro’s capture a kidnapping and alleged the US of trying to steal the country’s enormous oil reserves, Tuesday’s statement is seen as a strong sign that the current government is responding to Trump’s requirement to provide entry to US oil companies or be threatened with more military action.

Another Goal: Acquiring Greenland

Meanwhile, Trump and his aides have stated they are “exploring” a “spectrum of choices” in an effort to obtain Greenland. A White House statement on Tuesday noted that using the US military to do so is “remains a possibility”.

“President Trump has made it abundantly clear that acquiring Greenland is a key national security objective of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our opponents in the Arctic region,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The president and his team are evaluating a series of options to achieve this important foreign policy goal, and of course, employing the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s command.”

Leavitt’s comments came as the leaders of leading European powers pushed back against Trump’s long-running desire to take over the Arctic territory.

Additional Major Updates

• Family Assistance Blocked: The Trump administration is blocking more than $10 billion in federal child and family aid funds to several states including California and New York. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cited concerns about fraud and misuse.
• Limited Document Release: The Department of Justice has released a tiny fraction of the much-discussed Epstein files, a court filing has shown. Democrats have stepped up criticism of the administration’s “lawlessness” for withholding the documents.
• ICE Surge in Minnesota: The administration has dispatched more immigration agents to Minnesota, part of increasing rhetoric against the state and its immigrant populations. Immigration officials called it the agency’s “biggest-ever operation”.
• Greenland’s Firm Rejection: Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, urged Trump to abandon his “dreams of taking over” Greenland and accused the US of “wholly inappropriate” rhetoric. The Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, previously warned that a US attack on a NATO ally would mean the “collapse” of the military alliance.
• Focus Changed: Democratic senators claimed in a letter that the Trump administration has ceased work to combat exploitation and trafficking as it diverts thousands of law enforcement personnel to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Oil Price Movement

The fallout of the US intervention in Venezuela sent shockwaves through financial markets. The price of oil dropped after Trump’s announcement, with traders anticipating more supply hitting the market. West Texas Intermediate fell by over 1.5%, while the international benchmark, Brent crude, also decreased.

Criticism from Lawmakers

The idea of military action against Greenland faced significant bipartisan pushback from US legislators. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego vowed to introduce a resolution to block such a move. GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson said he did not think military action was “suitable”, and other Republican senators warned it could lead to the “collapse” of NATO.

The broader geopolitical landscape remains uncertain, with the US simultaneously involved in significant standoffs in Venezuela and the Arctic while implementing controversial domestic policy shifts.