Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters on Friday that the U.S. may lift some sanctions on Venezuela in order to facilitate oil sales.
Bessent also said that nearly $5 billion in Venezuela’s frozen International Monetary Fund (IMF) special drawing rights monetary assets could be used to rebuild its economy. The IMF has not engaged with Venezuela since the tenure of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
The Treasury secretary noted that his department is willing to convert Venezuela’s assets to dollars in order to rebuild the country.
In the wake of the U.S. capturing Chávez’s successor, Nicolás Maduro, the long-term future of the South American country is unclear. President Trump has insisted that the U.S. will “run” Venezuela until an orderly transition can occur; Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, has assumed power in his stead.
Trump reiterated those assertions on Thursday, telling Fox News’s Sean Hannity that Venezuela can only hold elections after the U.S. is finished rebuilding the country.
“They couldn’t have an election,” the president said. “They wouldn’t even know how to have an election right now.”
After Maduro was captured, Trump initially said that American oil companies will take control of Venezuela’s petroleum reserves, the largest in world. But Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday that the administration does not plan on U.S. oil firms entering the country immediately.
“Indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace,” Wright said at a Goldman Sachs energy conference in Miami.
Earlier in the week, Trump said that Venezuela will turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. The president added that the oil will be sold at market price, with the proceeds used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the U.S.
