In a bold geopolitical gambit, the Trump administration is reportedly leveraging Venezuela's political transformation to fundamentally reorient its economic alliances. According to exclusive ABC News reporting, Washington has presented Caracas's new leadership with a stark ultimatum: sever ties with China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba, or remain locked out of its own oil reserves.
Sources reveal the U.S. demands are twofold: First, Venezuela must "kick out" and "sever economic ties" with the four nations long supportive of the Maduro government. Second, it must agree to partner exclusively with the United States on oil production, favoring American buyers when selling its heavy crude oil.
This uncompromising position follows last week's dramatic U.S. military action that led to the capture and removal of President Nicolás Maduro. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez now leads a country where Donald Trump has bluntly claimed, "he's the one who controls" it.
The administration's strategy hinges on Venezuela's acute vulnerability. According to Bloomberg, the country began shutting oil wells in late December, having exhausted storage capacity due to the longstanding U.S. blockade. U.S. estimates suggest Caracas has mere weeks before financial insolvency without oil sales.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has privately told lawmakers the U.S. holds decisive leverage because Venezuela's oil tankers are full and immobilized. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker confirmed the plan's centrality on controlling Venezuelan oil, emphasizing it wouldn't require troop deployment.
"The government does intend to control the oil, taking charge of the ships, the tankers," Wicker told ABC, noting none would go to traditional ally Cuba. "Until they start moving… there are no more tankers to fill, because they're totally full."
The demand represents a radical forced realignment. China is Venezuela's largest oil buyer and has invested billions through oil-for-loan deals over decades. Russia and Iran have provided crucial diplomatic, economic, and technical support against U.S. pressure. Cuba has maintained a strategic partnership, exchanging medical personnel for oil.
Trump has additionally claimed the "interim authorities" would turn over 30 to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. to be sold at market price, with proceeds controlled by him "to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!"
The White House has not disputed the reporting, leaving critical questions unanswered: How would such an exclusive arrangement comply with international trade norms? What legal authority allows U.S. control of another nation's commodity sales? And how would global markets, already volatile, absorb this reshuffling of heavy crude flows?
The ultimatum underscores a broader Trump doctrine of transactional bilateralism, replacing multilateral engagement with direct, conditional partnerships. For Venezuela, the choice is between immediate economic relief through exclusive U.S. partnership or prolonged crisis. For Washington, it's an opportunity to untangle Caracas from its anti-Western alliances and secure energy resources on favorable terms.
As tankers sit full and wells remain shut, the clock ticks on one of the most audacious energy geopolitics plays in recent memory—a test of whether oil alone can redraw a nation's diplomatic map overnight.
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