Jan 8 (Reuters) – The United States could oversee Venezuela and control its oil revenues for years, President Donald Trump said in an interview published on Thursday.
During what The New York Times described as a detailed, two-hour interview, the paper said Trump also appeared to threaten military action against Venezuela’s neighbor, Colombia. Trump invited the Colombian leftist leader, whom he previously called a “sick man,” to visit Washington.
“Only time will tell” how long the United States will oversee Venezuela, Trump said. Asked by the magazine whether it would be three months, six months, a year or longer, Trump said: “I’d say much longer.”
“We’re going to rebuild it in a very beneficial way,” Trump said of Venezuela, where he sent troops to capture President Nicolas Maduro in a nighttime raid on Jan. 3.
“We’re using oil, and we’re going to take oil. We’re going to lower the price of oil, and we’re going to give Venezuela money, which they desperately need.”
Trump added that he was “getting along very well” with the government of interim President Delsey Rodriguez, a longtime Maduro loyalist who served as the ousted leader’s vice president.
‘Marco talks to her all the time’
The Times said Trump refused to answer questions about why he decided not to hand power to the opposition in Venezuela, which Washington previously considered the legitimate winner of the 2024 election.
On Tuesday, Trump unveiled a plan to refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil stuck in Venezuela due to the US blockade.
“They’re giving us everything we need,” Trump said, citing the Venezuelan government.
He declined to comment when asked if he had spoken to Rodriguez personally.
“But Marco talks to him all the time,” he said, referring to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “I will tell you that we are in constant communication with him and the administration.”
A call with Petro to remove threats against Colombia
The Times said its reporters were allowed to sit in on the phone call between Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, provided the content of the call was off the record.
In a post on social media, Trump said: “It was a great honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation on drugs and other disagreements we have. I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting with him in the near future.”
Petro described the first call with Trump as cordial.
On Sunday, Trump threatened military action against Colombia and called Petro “a sick man who likes to make cocaine and sell it in the United States, and he’s not going to do it much longer.”
The Times said Trump’s phone call with Petro lasted about an hour and “appeared to allay any immediate threat of US military action”.
Plan meetings with oil companies
Trump has said the United States wants to “run” Venezuela. US officials have indicated for now that their plan will take effect without military occupation.
Venezuela, with the world’s largest proven oil reserves, has been impoverished in recent decades, with 8 million people fleeing the world in the world’s biggest migration crisis.
Opponents in Washington and Venezuela have long accused the ruling Socialist Party of corruption, mismanagement and brutality. Maduro has blamed economic losses due to US sanctions.
Several senior U.S. officials said Wednesday that the United States needs to indefinitely control Venezuela’s oil sales and revenues to restore its oil industry and rebuild its economy.
Trump is scheduled to meet with the heads of major oil companies at the White House on Friday to discuss ways to boost Venezuela’s oil production. Representatives from the top three U.S. oil companies, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron, will attend, according to sources familiar with the plan.
Companies with experience in Venezuela declined to comment.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday that he had spoken with the CEOs of all three companies shortly after Maduro’s capture and said he expected them to be involved in restoring Venezuela’s oil sector.
“Are they going to spend billions of dollars building new infrastructure in Venezuela next week? Of course not,” he said. “But they want to be productive advisors and collaborators in that process.”
(Reporting by Reuters Bureau Writing by Peter Graff Editing by Gareth Jones)
