Trump says Venezuela will turn over $2bn of crude; White House signals options on Greenland

Donald Trump said Venezuela will be "turning over" $2bn worth of Venezuelan crude to the United States and posted that the oil "will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!" Venezuelan government officials and state company PDVSA did not provide comment.

The Guardian’s live coverage said Venezuela has millions of barrels of oil loaded on tankers and in storage that it has been unable to ship because of a blockade imposed by Trump, part of a pressure campaign that the outlet says culminated in the toppling of Nicolás Maduro, who was seized from his country by US forces over the weekend.

Top Venezuelan officials have called Maduro’s capture a kidnapping and accused the US of trying to steal the country’s oil reserves, while the supposed agreement was described as a strong sign the government is responding to Trump’s demand to open up to US oil companies or risk further military intervention.

Meanwhile the White House said Trump and his advisers are looking into "a range of options" to acquire Greenland, adding that using the US military to do so is "always an option." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said acquiring Greenland is a national security priority and that the president and his team are discussing a range of options.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Venezuela, Greenland, Nicolas Maduro, Pdvsa