Trump: US oil companies will go to Venezuela

US President Donald Trump has said that American oil companies will go to Venezuela, in light of the South American country's recent efforts to boost foreign investment in its energy sector.

In early January, US commandos raided the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, abducting President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The couple were flown to New York to face trial on drug trafficking charges, to which they have both pleaded not guilty. Trump has since demanded “full access” to Venezuela’s oil.

Speaking during a cabinet meeting on Thursday, the US president said his administration was "getting along very well" with Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, and the country's leadership.

"We're working... on oil. The major oil companies are going into Venezuela right now, looking at it and choosing their locations," Trump declared.

Trump's comments coincided with the issuance of a general license by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control that authorized the "loading, exporting, re-exporting, selling, reselling, supplying, storing, trading, purchasing, delivering, or transporting petroleum of Venezuelan origin, including refining such petroleum" by companies under certain conditions.

Also on Thursday, Rodriguez signed a reform of the Organic Hydrocarbons Law aimed at encouraging private and foreign investment in the country's struggling energy sector. Earlier in the day, Rodriguez held a phone conversation with Trump.

Venezuela, which holds the world's largest proven oil reserves at about 303 billion barrels, nationalized the assets of US companies in the 2000s during the presidency of socialist Hugo Chavez. Washington responded by imposing crippling sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry.

The US president has recently urged US energy companies to invest in reviving the sector. However, Exxon CEO Darren Woods has dismissed the idea, saying the South American country is “unsuitable for investment” given the “construction and trade frameworks that exist” there. He added that “strong investment protections” are a prerequisite for any long-term involvement.

Russia, along with many other BRICS and Global South countries, has strongly condemned the kidnapping of the Venezuelan president by US forces.

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