US will run Venezuela, rebuild it very profitable way, says Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump said the United States (US) expects to exercise long-term control over Venezuela and draw oil from its vast reserves for years, according to an interview with The New York Times published on Wednesday (local time).

 

Speaking with the newspaper that the US president himself sued last year over its coverage of the Epstein files, Trump said Washington would retain direct oversight of Venezuela for an extended period, with oil extraction forming a central pillar of its approach. 

“Only time will tell,” Trump said when asked how long the US would continue to run the South American nation, adding that the arrangement was likely to last “much longer”.

 

 

According to the report, the US president said the interim administration in Caracas, made up of former loyalists of the now-imprisoned Nicolás Maduro, was cooperating fully with Washington’s demands.

 

“They are giving us everything that we feel is necessary,” Trump said, as quoted by The New York Times.

Oil extraction central to US plan

Trump said the US intends to rebuild Venezuela’s oil sector in a way that benefits both countries, while helping to lower global oil prices.

 

“We will rebuild it in a very profitable way,” he said, adding, “We’re going to be using oil, and we’re going to be taking oil. We’re getting oil prices down, and we’re going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need.”

 

According to the report, Trump said the US had already begun benefiting financially by taking oil that was previously under sanctions. He referred to an announcement made on Tuesday night that Washington would obtain between 30 million and 50 million barrels of heavy Venezuelan crude.

 

However, Trump acknowledged that reviving Venezuela’s oil industry would take time.

No clarity on elections timeline

According to the NYT, Trump, during the interview, did not provide any indication of when elections would be held in Venezuela.

 

He also declined to explain why Washington recognised Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, as Venezuela’s interim leader instead of backing opposition figure María Corina Machado, whose coalition claimed victory in the 2024 election and later received the Nobel Peace Prize, it said.

 

The NYT report said when asked whether he had spoken to Rodríguez, Trump did not respond directly: “But Marco speaks to her all the time,” he said, referring to Rubio. “I will tell you that we are in constant communication with her and the administration.”

Concerns over prolonged intervention

While many Republican lawmakers have backed the administration’s Venezuela policy, Democrats reiterated concerns on Wednesday that the US risks entering a prolonged overseas intervention without clear legal authority.

 

Trump, however, did not set any deadline for ending US oversight. When pressed on whether Washington’s role would last months or years, he replied that it would likely extend far beyond the short term.

Colombia call during interview

According to The New York Times, Trump briefly paused the interview to take a call from Colombian President Gustavo Petro, days after publicly criticising Colombia over drug trafficking concerns.

 

Later the same day, Trump struck a conciliatory tone towards Petro in a post on Truth Social.

 

“It was a great honour to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had,” Trump wrote. He added that arrangements were under way for talks between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Colombia’s foreign minister at the White House.

 

Since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump has said he wants to rebuild the country’s infrastructure and eventually allow a political “transition” to take place.

 

So far, however, there has been no announcement on elections, even as prominent opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado has said she is ready to return home and believes Venezuela is prepared to hold fresh polls.