January 9, 2026 | 08:18 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – President Donald Trump announced that the United States would gain billions, and possibly trillions, of dollars from the sale of Venezuelan oil.
"We’re taking billions and billions of dollars worth of oil, it’ll be hundreds of billions of dollars, it’ll be trillions of dollars. We’re going to be there until we straighten out the country," Trump told Fox News, as quoted by Antara on Friday, January 9, 2026.
Trump said on Tuesday that the interim authorities of Venezuela agreed to hand over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States.
Trump also promised to use the funds obtained for the interests of the people of both countries. He claimed on Wednesday that Venezuela will only buy American-made products as part of the "deal" with Washington regarding the sale of the Latin American country's oil.
On January 3, the United States launched a massive attack on Venezuela, taking President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and bringing them to New York.
Trump announced that Maduro and Flores will be tried for their alleged involvement in "narco-terrorism" and for being considered a threat, including to the United States.
Meanwhile, Caracas called for an emergency meeting at the United Nations regarding the US military operation.
The Venezuelan Supreme Court temporarily transferred the duties of the head of state to Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who was officially sworn in as interim president before the National Assembly on January 5. Trump stated his administration will "run" Venezuela and its oil assets during the transition period.
US$100 Billion Investment
Trump stated that 14 leading oil companies will rebuild the country's oil infrastructure with at least $100 billion in funding.
"The top 14 companies are coming here," said Trump as reported by Fox News and quoted by Anadolu ahead of a meeting with US oil company executives at the White House.
"They're going to go in, they're going to rebuild the whole oil infrastructure. They're going to spend at least $100 billion," he said.
The Trump administration has intensified military operations in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific Ocean since last September under the pretext of combating drug trafficking.
Trump claimed that the US military has "knocked out" 97 percent of drugs entering the US through sea routes. "We are going to start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels. The cartels are running Mexico. It's very, very sad to watch and see what's happened to that country, but the cartels are running and they're killing 250,000 to 300,000 people in our country every single year," he added.
Venezuela Elections
Trump also invited Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to visit Washington, DC, "next week sometime," stating, "and I look forward to saying hello to her."
Machado recently received the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in defending democracy and promoting a peaceful transition in Venezuela from an authoritarian government to a democracy.
"I've heard that she wants to do that. That to be a great honor," Trump replied when asked if he would accept the Nobel Prize if Machado wanted to present it to him.
"The country has become third world, and they wouldn't know how to have an election right now, we're going to rebuild the oil and the oil infrastructure will be in charge of it ... we're going to rebuild the country, and ultimately you can have elections," he said.
Read: Venezuela's State Oil Company in Talks with US for Crude Oil Sales
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