January 8, 2026 | 09:17 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - US President Donald Trump said Venezuela will only buy American-made products as part of a "deal" with Washington to sell the Latin American country's oil.
"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 claimed on Truth Social, as reported by CNBC.
"These purchases will include, among other things, American Agricultural Products, and American Made Medicines, Medical Devices, and Equipment to improve Venezuela’s Electric Grid and Energy Facilities."
"In other words, Venezuela is committed to doing business with the United States as their primary partner," he said.
He claimed it was a "wise" choice and a good thing for both Venezuelans and Americans.
The announcement came just days after the Trump administration kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, which legal experts, as reported by Al Jazeera, said was a clear violation of international law.
50 Million Barrels of Oil
Trump claimed on Tuesday that Venezuela would hand over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the US following the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro. The oil would be sold at market prices, Trump said. The sale, if carried out, would amount to more than US$2 billion based on Wednesday's closing oil prices.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed on Wednesday that the US would 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 those sales will be held in a US-controlled account, Wright said.
"We’re not taking their oil," the energy secretary told CNBC in an interview. The proceeds from the sales will be returned to Venezuela, he said.
Democrats Condemn
The US action against Venezuela comes amid a months-long pressure campaign by the Trump administration against Maduro, who has been indicted in New York for drug trafficking offenses he denies.
This includes a partial US naval blockade of Venezuela and the seizure of several vessels that the Trump administration says are transporting oil to and from the country in violation of US sanctions.
Earlier on Wednesday, US special forces seized two Venezuela-linked vessels – including a Russian-flagged vessel – in the North Atlantic for allegedly violating those sanctions.
The seizures came as senior US officials briefed lawmakers on Capitol Hill on the Trump administration's plans for Venezuela.
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher said most Republicans supported Trump's action, while Democrats raised several questions.
These include "how long this operation in Venezuela will continue, what it will cost, [whether] any American servicemen actually be deployed on the ground in Venezuela, and what is the Venezuelan reaction," Fisher explained.
"The Trump administration [is] hoping to get everyone on side before the end of the day," he added.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on social media that Wednesday's briefing was "worse" than she imagined.
"Oil company executives seem to know more about Trump’s secret plan to ‘run’ Venezuela than the American people. We need public Senate hearings NOW," she said.
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