Donald Trump has said Venezuela will be “turning over” 30 to 50m barrels of sanctioned oil to the US, as the South American country seeks to avoid deep cuts in output amid an ongoing blockade on exports imposed by Washington since mid-December.

“This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Trump said in a post online.

Venezuela has millions of barrels of oil loaded on tankers and in storage tanks that it has been unable to ship due to the blockade imposed by Trump, as part of the pressure campaign that culminated in the toppling of Nicolás Maduro who was seized from his country by US forces over the weekend.

“I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately,” Trump said, adding that the oil would be “taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.”

Reports earlier on Tuesday stated that government officials in Caracas and Washington had discussed exporting Venezuelan crude to refiners in the United States, in a deal that would divert supplies away from China while helping state company PDVSA avoid deeper output cuts.

China has been Venezuela’s top buyer in the last decade.

This is a breaking news story …

With Reuters