Trump claims India has finalised Venezuelan oil deal; Signals openness to China

Washington:  US President Donald Trump has said that India has already struck a deal to purchase Venezuelan oil, while China is “welcome” to enter into similar arrangements.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump declared, “China is welcome to come in and make a great deal on oil. We’ve already made a deal. India is coming in, and they’re going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran. So, we’ve already made the concept of the deal.” He repeated that India had “already made” the agreement, though New Delhi has yet to issue any response to his remarks.

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The comments follow Trump’s earlier claim that Venezuela had offered Washington 50 million barrels of oil, valued at USD 5.2 billion, which he said he had accepted. Addressing the press at an event marking the renaming of Southern Boulevard to Donald Trump Boulevard, he explained, “They said, we have 50 million barrels of oil, and we have to get it processed immediately because we have no room. Will you take it? I said, we’ll take it. It’s equivalent to USD 5.2 billion.”

Trump praised what he described as a “great relationship” with Venezuela’s interim government, which was formed after the US captured former President Nicolás Maduro in a military operation earlier this year. He reiterated that Washington would oversee Venezuela during a transitional period, insisting the US required “total access to the oil and to other things in their country.”

His statements also align with a recent report by New York-based outlet Semafor, which revealed that the US had completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil worth USD 500 million. According to the report, proceeds from the sale are being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government, with the main account located in Qatar.

The move aligns with India’s broader strategy of diversifying energy sources. On January 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, during which both leaders pledged to deepen bilateral ties.