US Says It Will Control Venezuela Oil Exports Indefinitely (5)

Jan. 7, 2026, 7:49 PM UTC

The Trump administration plans to control future sales of Venezuelan oil and hold the proceeds in US accounts, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, making the clearest statement yet on Washington’s strategy to bring the impoverished nation’s crude to market and control its most valuable resource.

Wright, who spoke at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. conference in Miami Wednesday, said initially the barrels would come from crude Venezuela is holding in storage, which has been filling up amid the US blockade and threatening to force some production off line.

“We’re just going to get that crude moving again and sell it,” ...

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