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Ex-President Donald Trump has announced that the Venezuelan government will be “handing over” approximately $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude to the US. This major agreement would divert supplies originally headed to China while potentially helping Venezuela evade further oil production cuts.

“This Crude will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as the President of the United States of America, to make certain it is used to assist the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Trump wrote in an online post.

Officials in Caracas and the state-owned firm PDVSA did not provide comment on the alleged agreement.

Background: An Embargo and an Arrest

Venezuela currently has vast quantities of oil loaded on tankers and in onshore tanks that it has been prevented from shipping due to a naval blockade enacted by the Trump administration. This coercive strategy reached its peak with the ouster of Nicolás Maduro, who was seized by US forces over the past weekend.

While high-ranking Venezuelan officials have labeled Maduro’s capture a abduction and charged the US of seeking to take the country’s vast oil reserves, Tuesday’s statement is seen as a strong sign that the current government is complying with Trump’s ultimatum to open up to US oil companies or face the risk of more military intervention.

Another Goal: Acquiring Greenland

At the same time, Trump and his advisers have stated they are “looking into” a “range of options” in an bid to obtain Greenland. A White House statement on Tuesday noted that using the US military to do so is “always an option”.

“President Trump has made it perfectly clear that securing Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s crucial to counter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The president and his team are considering a range of options to achieve this significant foreign policy goal, and of course, using the US military is one available path at the commander-in-chief’s disposal.”

Leavitt’s comments came as the leaders of key European powers expressed opposition against Trump’s long-running desire to take over the Arctic territory.

Additional Major Updates

• Family Assistance Blocked: The Trump administration is withholding more than $10 billion in federal childcare and family assistance funds to several states including California and New York. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cited allegations of fraud and misuse.
• Limited Document Release: The Department of Justice has released a tiny fraction of the much-discussed Epstein files, a court filing has revealed. Democrats have stepped up criticism of the administration’s “lawlessness” for keeping records under seal.
• ICE Surge in Minnesota: The administration has deployed more immigration agents to Minnesota, in an extension of increasing rhetoric against the state and its immigrant populations. Immigration officials called it the agency’s “largest operation to date”.
• Greenland’s Firm Rejection: Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, urged Trump to give up his “notions of seizing” Greenland and accused the US of “entirely unacceptable” rhetoric. The Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, previously warned that a US attack on a NATO ally would mean the “demise” of the military alliance.
• Resources Diverted from Trafficking: Democratic senators claimed in a letter that the Trump administration has stopped trying to combat child exploitation, human trafficking, and cartels as it redirects thousands of law enforcement personnel to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Financial Impact

The fallout of the US intervention in Venezuela sent shockwaves through the markets. The price of oil fell after Trump’s announcement, with traders bracing for more supply hitting the market. West Texas Intermediate fell by more than 1.5 percent, while the international benchmark, Brent crude, also dropped.

Bipartisan Opposition

The idea of military action against Greenland encountered immediate bipartisan opposition from US legislators. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego vowed to introduce a resolution to block such a move. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he did not think military action was “the right course”, and other Republican senators warned it could lead to the “collapse” of NATO.

The international diplomatic situation remains fraught, with the US at once involved in high-stakes standoffs in South America and the Arctic while carrying out divisive domestic policy shifts.