President Donald Trump ordered the seizure of Venezuelan oil in December 2025 after the US overthrew Nicolas Maduro from power in a targeted military operation. Trump announced that the US would control the sale and supplies of Venezuelan oil and took it under his gambit. Critics hit out at Trump, saying that the White House is using war as an investment.
According to a new report from the Financial Times, the US sale of Venezuelan oil has reached $13 billion. The outlet quoted Trump saying that the sale of oil made the US recover the money spent on military operations. The oil sale has “Paid for that war many times over,” he said while speaking to reporters on Air Force One.
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Venezuelan Oil: US Profits From Seizure of Assets
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Semafor that the US has sold more than 150 million barrels of Venezuelan oil since it seized the assets. The US has sold the oil at a discount of $15 per barrel compared to the market rate. This attracted buyers as the rates were cheaper, at a time when the global market entered an uncertain phase.
The US and Iran war sent oil prices soaring, which made the seized Venezuelan assets go above $100 per barrel. Venezuela’s oil industry had also increased its supply output to meet the growing demand after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump fundamentally changed the way the US uses the assets being seized after a military attack.
The Trump administration still has control over the seized Venezuelan oil market after it took over in December 2025. Venezuela’s oil output rose from roughly 820,000 bpd in January to 1.23 million bpd by June 2026. Exports reached 1.25 million bpd, their highest level since the previous sanctions were imposed in 2019 during Trump’s first term.