Trump invites China and Russia to buy Venezuelan oil under US control

US President Donald Trump has invited China and Russia to purchase Venezuelan crude under Washington's control, defending his administration's extraordinary seizure of the country's oil sales by claiming Beijing and Moscow would have moved first had the United States not intervened, EFE reported.

Speaking at a White House meeting with oil executives on January 9, Trump said Washington was "open to doing business" and welcomed China and Russia, two main backers of the Chavista regime, to buy Venezuelan petroleum either directly from Caracas or through supplies shipped to American facilities. "China would have gone in there, and Russia would have gone in there too without US action," he argued, framing the intervention as pre-emptive rather than opportunistic.

The remarks came during discussions with executives from Chevron, ExxonMobil, Spain's Repsol and Italy's Eni as the administration develops plans to reconstruct Venezuela's oil sector following the January 3 capture of Nicolás Maduro by US special forces. The meeting underscored Trump's determination to position American companies as primary beneficiaries of access to the world's largest proven petroleum reserves whilst maintaining rhetorical openness to rivals Beijing and Moscow.

The overture to geopolitical foes exposes a notable contradiction within Trump's Venezuela strategy. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanded that Caracas sever ties with China, Russia, Iran and Cuba as conditions for oil sector access, according to officials cited by ABC News. Yet Trump's willingness to facilitate Chinese and Russian purchases suggests commercial pragmatism may override strategic concerns about expanding adversarial influence in the Western Hemisphere, particularly if such sales generate revenues Washington can direct toward its stated objective of benefiting the Venezuelan people whilst controlling disbursement.

The administration has announced it will oversee marketing of between 30mn and 50mn barrels of Venezuelan crude under arrangements with the interim government led by acting president Delcy Rodríguez. Rubio has outlined a three-phase plan for Venezuela beginning with "stabilisation" through economic leverage, followed by "recovery" ensuring American and Western companies gain market access, and concluding with political "transition" toward reconciliation. Trump's offer to competitors Beijing and Moscow complicates that blueprint by acknowledging that Venezuelan oil will flow to whoever pays, undermining the leverage the White House claims over Caracas whilst potentially enriching the authoritarian rivals the administration claims to contain.

Trump reiterated his call for a comprehensive overhaul of Venezuela's ailing energy infrastructure, saying companies should pursue complete reconstruction rather than limited repairs. "I expect them to build everything completely new, to get rid of the old junk that's been there for so many years, and to do it the right way," he said, adding that firms reaching agreements would maintain long-term presence in the country. Oil majors are expected to invest "at least $100bn of their own capital, not government money" into repairs, Trump added.

Ahead of the meeting, Trump apologised to companies excluded due to space constraints, saying Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum would meet those executives next week to continue discussions on reconstructing Venezuela's petroleum industry. The consultations reflect Washington's ambitions to position US oil firms advantageously whilst Venezuela's interim government, comprised of Chavista officials including the Rodríguez siblings and hard-line Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, navigates between accommodating US demands and maintaining revolutionary credentials before domestic constituencies.