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Former President Donald Trump has declared that the Venezuelan government will be “turning over” an estimated $2 billion worth of Venezuelan oil to the United States. This major agreement would divert supplies originally headed to China while allowing Venezuela sidestep more severe oil production cuts.

“This Oil will be sold at its prevailing market price, and that revenue will be managed by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the citizens of Venezuela and the United States!” Trump proclaimed in an online post.

Authorities in Venezuela and the state-owned firm PDVSA offered no response on the alleged agreement.

Background: An Embargo and an Arrest

Venezuela currently has millions of barrels of oil aboard tankers and in storage tanks that it has been blocked from exporting due to a blockade enacted by the Trump administration. This pressure campaign reached its peak with the toppling of Nicolás Maduro, who was apprehended by US forces over the past weekend.

While high-ranking Venezuelan officials have described Maduro’s capture a kidnapping and alleged the US of attempting to seize the country’s enormous oil reserves, Tuesday’s declaration is seen as a clear indicator that the interim government is responding to Trump’s ultimatum to provide entry to US oil companies or be threatened with more military intervention.

A Separate Agenda: The Quest for Greenland

At the same time, Trump and his aides have stated they are “examining” a “variety of possibilities” in an effort to take control of Greenland. A presidential statement on Tuesday noted that using the US military to do so is “remains a possibility”.

“President Trump has made it well known that obtaining Greenland is a vital security interest of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our opponents in the Arctic region,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The president and his team are considering a series of options to achieve this significant foreign policy goal, and of course, using the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s discretion.”

Leavitt’s comments came as the top officials of major European powers pushed back against Trump’s long-running desire to annex the Arctic territory.

Other Key Developments

• Aid Money Halted: The Trump administration is blocking more than $10 billion in federal child and family aid funds to five major states. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cited concerns about fraud and misuse.
• Sealed Records: The Department of Justice has released a tiny fraction of the much-discussed Epstein files, a court filing has shown. Democrats have increased criticism of the administration’s “lawlessness” for sealing the files.
• Immigration Crackdown in Minnesota: The administration has sent 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 “most significant crackdown so far”.
• PM’s Strong Rebuke: Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, urged Trump to abandon his “dreams of taking over” 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 “collapse” of the military alliance.
• Focus Changed: Democratic senators alleged in a letter that the Trump administration has ceased work to combat exploitation and trafficking as it reassigns thousands of law enforcement personnel to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Financial Impact

The implications of the US intervention in Venezuela sent tremors through global markets. The price of oil dropped after Trump’s announcement, with traders expecting more supply entering the market. West Texas Intermediate fell by 1.6%, while the international benchmark, Brent crude, also decreased.

Political Backlash

The idea of military action against Greenland encountered swift bipartisan pushback from US legislators. Democrat 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 wider diplomatic context remains tense, with the US at once pursuing high-stakes disputes in Venezuela and the North Atlantic while enacting divisive domestic policy shifts.