Venezuela has reached a deal with Washington to export up to 30–50 million barrels of crude worth about $2 billion to the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, signaling a sharp redirection of Caracas’s stranded oil flows away from China and toward U.S. ports.
Trump said the oil—described as “sanctions-trapped” barrels—will be sold at market prices, with proceeds controlled by the U.S. president “to ensure the money benefits both the people of Venezuela and the United States.” He named Energy Secretary Chris Wright to implement the arrangement and indicated cargoes would be routed directly to American terminals.
The agreement follows weeks of escalating pressure on President Nicolás Maduro’s government, including a U.S. special-forces operation on Saturday that removed Maduro from Caracas—an action Venezuelan officials condemned as “abduction” and evidence of an American bid to seize the country’s oil wealth. Caracas and state oil firm PDVSA did not immediately comment.
Industry sources said the plan will likely reallocate cargoes originally bound for China, Venezuela’s dominant buyer in recent years, especially after U.S. sanctions intensified in 2020. Following Trump’s remarks, U.S. crude prices fell more than 1.5%, reflecting expectations of additional Venezuelan supply.
For now, U.S.-authorized exports from Venezuela are largely overseen by Chevron, which has been shipping roughly 100,000–150,000 barrels per day to the United States and continued lifting barrels during recent disruptions. It remains unclear how—or whether—PDVSA will access any proceeds from the new flows given its sanctions isolation from the global financial system and dollar transactions.
Trump has repeatedly pressed Venezuela’s interim authorities to open the oil sector fully to U.S. and private firms, warning that refusal could invite military escalation. Tuesday’s announcement suggests Caracas’s interim leadership is moving to meet at least part of those demands in order to avoid deeper production cuts and relieve a growing backlog of unsold crude.