January 7, 2026
United States President Donald Trump stated on 06 January that Venezuela has agreed to export up to USD two billion worth of Venezuelan crude oil to the US. President Trump had earlier demanded that the interim Venezuelan government open its market to US oil companies. The deal could divert supplies from China, which has been the top buyer of Venezuelan oil in the last decade. Venezuelan government officials and PDVSA, the state-owned oil company, are yet to make any comments regarding the deal. It is also unclear if Venezuela would have access to proceeds from the supply. Sanctions on PDVSA currently exclude it from the global financial system.