Venezuela has become the U.S.’s fifth largest provider of oil after Washington took over the country’s industry following the capture of authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro in early January.
Citing figures from the International Energy Agency, Infobae noted that the South American country sent over 150,000 barrels a day in the first week of February. The figure, however, was 13% lower than that of the last week of January.
However, the outlet added that the average for the first five weeks of 2026 is over 50% lower than that for the same period for the past year. The peak took place in 2011, when Venezuela sent almost 1,4 million barrels a day.
The Trump administration has been overseeing the country’s oil industry, and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the country has “enormous leverage over the interim authorities in Venezuela” as a result.
Speaking to NBC News’ Kristen Welker in Caracas last week, Wright said that while “the Venezuelans are in charge,” the Trump administration “has enormous leverage over the interim authorities as the largest revenue source that funds the government, that funds the government of Venezuela is now controlled by the United States.”
“If they’re driving positive change that benefits Americans and is improving the life opportunities of people in Venezuela, that money will flow. If they steer off that path, we have just simply tremendous leverage,” he added.
Three days after Maduro’s capture and with Delcy Rodríguez serving as Venezuela’s interim president, Trump said the Venezuelan government had agreed to deliver between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States. He added that the crude would be sold at market prices and that proceeds would be used to benefit the Venezuelan people.
According to a BBC World investigation, U.S. authorities announced on Jan. 14 that the first sale of Venezuelan crude had generated $500 million, but contrary to Trump’s comments, the revenue has remained under U.S. control.
As noted by the report, so far the funds are being allocated through auctions held by the Central Bank of Venezuela, and both companies and individuals can participate through four Venezuelan banks. The interested parties must submit the required documentation, state how many dollars they need and indicate the price they are willing to pay, sources in the Venezuelan banking sector told BBC World.
According to economist Alejandro Grisanti, director of the consultancy Ecoanalítica, about 80% of the funds have been reserved for priority sectors like food and medicine, 15% for other productive sectors and 5% for individuals.
But economists and experts say the lack of transparency remains one of the biggest concerns surrounding the agreements between the Trump administration and the interim government of Rodríguez.
Originally published on Latin Times
