The United States intends to use the control it now claims over billions of barrels of Venezuelan oil to replenish its emergency strategic reserve. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday, in a post on the social network Truth Social, that one of the uses he will make of Venezuelan oil is to fill the National Strategic Reserves, describing the process as a gift from Venezuela to the American people.
Trump blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the depletion of the American reserve. With a capacity of more than 700 million barrels, the current stock is only 289.7 million barrels, representing about 40% of total capacity. The American president stated that the filling process will begin soon.
The announcement comes after an oil agreement that angered both sides of Venezuelan politics. Venezuela's interim president rebutted Trump and stated that the country will maintain control of its oil after the agreement, contradicting the American narrative that the oil would be a gift from the Venezuelan people to the United States.
