【By Observer News, Qi Qian】

The ambitions of the Trump administration in the United States are becoming increasingly brazen, determined to "exhaust" Venezuela's oil interests.

On January 7 local time, U.S. President Trump stated that the funds obtained by Venezuela from the U.S.-Venezuela oil agreement would be used exclusively for purchasing products made in the United States. On the same day, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the United States expects to indefinitely control future sales of Venezuelan oil.

"I just learned that Venezuela will use the funds from our new oil agreement to purchase only American-made products," Trump said on his self-created social media platform "Truth Social." These purchases would include American agricultural products, as well as medicines, medical equipment and devices manufactured in the United States, "to improve Venezuela's power grid and energy facilities."

Trump said: "In other words, Venezuela has committed to conducting business primarily with the United States as its partner." He also called it a "wise choice," claiming it is "good for both countries."

According to ABC, on the same day, Wright explained the Trump administration's envisioned plan at an energy conference in Miami, which is that the United States will indefinitely control the flow and sale of Venezuelan oil, as well as the income generated from it.

Wright said: "We will not block oil as we do now, but let the market operate freely, allowing oil to flow into U.S. refineries and around the world, thus bringing better oil supply."

Then he revealed his true intentions, "but these sales will be carried out by the U.S. government and the proceeds will be deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S. government."

According to him, eventually, this money will flow back to Venezuela, "to benefit the Venezuelan people and promote change." He said: "If we can control the flow of oil and the flow of cash from its sales, we have great influence, and we need to have this kind of influence."

ABC noted that Wright did not elaborate on how much revenue would ultimately flow back to Venezuela. The White House refused to comment but did not deny it.

Bloomberg cited sources reporting that depositing the funds into the U.S. Treasury account could protect them from claims by Venezuelan creditors.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post mentioned that on the same day, U.S. officials said that two Venezuelan-related tankers were seized, including the "Bella 1" (renamed "Marinela"), which was related to Russia and seized in the North Atlantic, as well as the "Sofia" seized in the Caribbean Sea.

A Venezuela tanker tilted in 2020, photo

After the U.S. kidnapped Venezuela's president Maduro, Trump openly boasted multiple times about his plan to control the country's vast energy reserves. Critics pointed out that the U.S. actions amount to resource plundering.

On the local time of the 6th, Trump announced that according to the agreement reached between the U.S. and Venezuela, Venezuela will export crude oil worth nearly $2 billion to the United States. Reuters said that this landmark agreement may require shifting crude oil supplies originally destined for China during its initial implementation.

The South China Morning Post analyzed that the Trump administration's attitude towards the Venezuela issue is arrogant, but in reality, it is carefully walking a tightrope.

On one hand, the U.S. hopes to boost its economy and global influence by using Venezuela's oil, helping to control domestic inflation. But on the other hand, the U.S. tries to avoid getting involved in a potential decades-long internal conflict in Venezuela, including economic reconstruction, mediating between political factions, and even countering rebellions targeting energy infrastructure.

The report pointed out that Venezuela has some of the largest oil reserves in the world. However, U.S. companies are reluctant to get involved in the "mess" without stable political guarantees. Trump promised to rebuild the country's aging energy infrastructure within 18 months, but experts say this timeline is unrealistic.

Plotting for oil resources, reshaping the strategy of the Western Hemisphere... In recent days, scholars and industry professionals have given various interpretations of the Trump administration's bold moves. French scholar Adina Revol said on the 7th that there is another deep intention behind this move: "Although Trump's actions against Venezuela seem to be for oil, the real goal is to weaken China."

However, she also emphasized that China has the ability to counter Trump's actions "almost in equal measure." She explained that China almost monopolizes the key raw material refining and processing field, which is the core of the energy transition; and China is also imitating the U.S. by using extraterritorial jurisdiction, with rare earth export restrictions being the most typical example.

On January 7, at the regular press conference of the Foreign Ministry, a reporter asked: The Trump administration has informed Venezuela's acting president that the country must cut off its economic ties with China, sever relations with Russia, Iran, and Cuba, and cooperate only with the U.S. in oil production. What is the Chinese government's comment on this?

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning stated that Venezuela is a sovereign state, and it has full and permanent sovereignty over its natural resources and all economic activities. The U.S. has taken military action against Venezuela and demanded that Venezuela prioritize the U.S. when dealing with its oil resources, which is a typical bullying act, seriously violating international law, seriously infringing on Venezuela's sovereignty, and seriously harming the rights of the Venezuelan people. China strongly condemns this.

Mao Ning said, I want to emphasize that the legitimate rights and interests of China and other countries in Venezuela must be protected.

This article is exclusive to Observer News, and without permission, it cannot be reprinted.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7592803634862195251/

Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.