Trump says US will keep or sell oil seized from Venezuela
Donald Trump said that the United States will keep or sell the crude oil found in tankers and ships seized off the coast of Venezuela.
The US president’s comments come as Washington continues to pressure the South American country’s leader Nicolas Maduro to step down.
Speaking to reporters in Florida on Monday, Trump said, “We will keep it” regarding the oil and added: “Maybe we will sell it, maybe we will keep it. Maybe we will use it in Strategic Reserves. We will also keep the ships.”
The Trump administration accused Venezuela of using oil revenues to finance drug-related crimes, while Caracas condemned the seizures as “piracy.”
Asked if the goal of the vigils was to remove Maduro from power, Trump replied: “Yeah, I guess that would be the case… It’s up to him what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for him to do that. But we’ll find out, though.”
The United States has launched a series of attacks on boats in the Pacific Ocean that it says are used to smuggle drugs, which some legal experts say could violate international law.
Speaking on Monday, Trump reiterated that the United States, which has established a large naval fleet off the coast of Venezuela, intends to strike targets on land as well.
He said: “We will start the same program on land. If they want to come by land, they will face a big problem. They will be divided because we do not want our people to be poisoned.”
Speaking on state television, Maduro responded to Trump: “It would be better for him to deal with economic and social issues in his own country, and the world would be better off if he focused on his own country’s affairs.”
Since returning to office in January, Trump has doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture and accused him of being “one of the world’s biggest drug traffickers.”
The Trump administration has designated Maduro’s government as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) and last week ordered a “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.
The latest measures have sparked outrage among officials in Caracas, as the Venezuelan government relies heavily on oil exports to finance public spending.
At Venezuela’s request, the UN Security Council will hold an emergency session on Tuesday to discuss what the government describes as “continued US aggression”.
