January 6, 2026 | 09:37 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Talks between President Donald Trump’s administration and US oil companies regarding new "opportunities" in Venezuela have begun, a senior White House official told Anadolu on Monday. This comes just days after US forces took President Nicolas Maduro from the Presidential Palace in Caracas.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that correspondence has started and will continue. They did not name the specific companies involved but stated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Energy Secretary Chris Wright will lead the discussions for the administration.
"President Trump has said he looks forward to working with America’s oil companies on new investments and opportunities in Venezuela," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Trump has pledged to assert American control over the country, including its valuable oil reserves. He has also opened the door to the potential deployment of American forces to the South American nation to secure these interests.
"We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies — the biggest anywhere in the world — go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure," Trump said at a press conference on Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Following the US detention of Maduro, Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez to assume the interim presidency immediately.
Rodriguez was officially inaugurated on Monday. During her speech, she stated, "I come with pain for the kidnapping of two heroes that we have as hostages in the United States of North America," referring to Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, who were apprehended during the US raid.
Maduro, 63, and Flores were taken in a pre-dawn operation. They were flown to New York for initial hearings on drug and weapon charges. Both pleaded not guilty on Monday morning.
Maduro is represented by attorney Barry Pollack, the former lawyer for Julian Assange. During the proceedings, Maduro asserted himself as a prisoner of war. Meanwhile, the attorney for Flores told the judge that the 69-year-old first lady sustained several injuries, including a possible cracked rib, during the capture. Despite the legal battles, the Trump administration remains focused on the economic potential of the region.
In recent days, Trump claimed that American oil companies could repair Venezuela's failing oil infrastructure. The country holds an estimated 303 billion barrels of oil, the largest proven reserves in the world. However, production has declined steadily since the early 2000s. The Trump administration sees significant potential for US energy prospects within these reserves.
Boosting production will be expensive for US firms. Furthermore, Venezuelan oil is heavy and difficult to refine. Currently, Chevron is the only American company still operating in the country.
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