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US President Donald Trump met top oil and gas executives at the White House and assured them of safety and security in Venezuela. Saying that the United States built the Venezuelan oil industry with American talent, now US would do "everything" about the assets which were 'stolen'.
Trump said he was delighted to welcome almost two dozen of the biggest and most respected oil and gas executives in the world to the White House. The US President said that the departure of Maduro made it possible to have an incredible future for both nations and said that there would be deeper integration of the economies of the two major energy powers of the Western hemisphere. Assuring the industry leaders of safety and security in Venezuela, Trump said, "You're dealing with us directly, not Venezuela. You have total safety, security; it's a whole different Venezuela". Trump added, "Decades ago, the United States built Venezuela's oil industry with American skill, technology, know-how, and dollars... but those assets were stolen from us, and we had Presidents that did nothing about it... now, we're doing everything about it." He further mentioned, "Our giant oil companies are spending at least $100B of their money, not the government's money... to rebuild the capacity and the infrastructure necessary." Trump was flanked by US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among several senior members of his administration as he met the top oil and gas executives. On the operation in Venezuela, VP Vance said it is "going to make our country richer, it's going to make our country more powerful, it's going to make our country safer, and it's going to lead to the further decline of drug overdose deaths in the United States of America -- an amazing thing." Answering media, Trump said that the companies going into Venezuela would have security guarantees. On the relationship with Venezuela with Delcy Rodriguez as the Interim President, Trump said, "Right now they seem to be an ally and I think it will continue. We don't want Russia and China there." The meeting comes amid a broader US strategy to capitalise on Venezuela's vast crude reserves and reshape its energy landscape following Trump's "large-scale strike" in the South American country on Saturday, which captured its leader, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Maduro and Flores were flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement. They were indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York and are currently facing trial. Following this, Maduro's longtime vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as the acting president on Monday, despite Trump saying, "We're in charge," after the operation, signalling that the US will closely monitor developments in Venezuela. (ANI)
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