President Donald Trump said on Jan. 20 that his administration would likely stop buying oil from Venezuela.
“It was a great country 20 years ago, and now it’s a mess,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, hours after his inauguration.
“We don’t have to buy their oil. We have plenty of oil for ourselves.”
Trump on Monday laid out a plan to maximize U.S. oil and gas production, including by declaring a national energy emergency. He also signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Accord.
Venezuela holds the largest proven crude oil reserves in the world, with more than 300 billion barrels as of the end of 2023, according to OPEC.
U.S. crude oil imports from Venezuela slumped in 2019 when the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuelan state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela.
Expanded sanctions imposed by the first Trump administration in 2019 significantly restricted Venezuela’s oil industry. The Biden administration later eased some restrictions, maintaining company-specific licenses that allowed companies such as Chevron to operate under limited conditions in Venezuela.
The United States eased sanctions in November 2022 when The Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces economic and trade sanctions, granted waivers to Chevron.
In April 2024, the United States reimposed oil sanctions on Venezuela over election concerns.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in on Jan. 10 after a contentious election.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado called Maduro’s inauguration a “coup d’état” and a violation of the nation’s constitution.
The Chinese Communist Party has been a supporter of Maduro. In a July 2024 statement, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said, “China will, as always, firmly support Venezuela’s efforts to safeguard sovereignty, national dignity, and social stability.”
