JUST IN:“Oil is starting to flow, and large amounts of money, unseen for many years, will soon be greatly helping the people of Venezuela.”

“Oil is starting to flow, and large amounts of money, unseen for many years, will soon be greatly helping the people of Venezuela.”

President Trump praises cooperation with Venezuela, saying, “we are dealing very well with President Delcy Rodríguez.”

US President Donald Trump hailed a dramatic shift in Venezuela, saying that oil is beginning to flow again and that relations with the country are “extraordinary” under its current leadership. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “Relations between Venezuela and the United States have been, to put it mildly, extraordinary! We are dealing very well with President Delcy Rodriguez, and her Representatives. Oil is starting to flow, and large amounts of money, unseen for many years, will soon be greatly helping the people of Venezuela.”

Trump also took a swipe at unauthorised actors in the unfolding situation, warning, “Marco Rubio, and all of our Representatives, are doing a fantastic job, but we speak only for ourselves, and don’t want there to be any confusion or misrepresentation. There is a story about a man named Harry Sargeant III … He has no authority … nor does anyone else that is not approved by the State Department.”

His remarks come after US launched strikes in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of longtime leader Nicolas Maduro, who was flown to New York to face federal charges.

Following Maduro’s removal, Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice appointed his former vice president Delcy Rodríguez as interim president. Under the evolving arrangement, the Trump administration has eased some longstanding sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector and issued licenses to facilitate oil and gas exploration and production.

Venezuela’s oil industry, once crippled by underinvestment and sanctions, has begun to rebound. Interim President Rodríguez has also taken steps to open the oil sector to foreign investment, signing reforms aimed at easing state control and making Venezuela’s oil industry more attractive to outside capital.