US President Donald Trump makes an announcement on American Nuclear Innovation in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 24, 2026.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Monday the U.S. has sold more than $13 billion of Venezuelan oil since taking control of the South American nation’s energy exports after the overthrow of former President Nicolas Maduro in January.
Trump was responding to a question about an estimate by the Financial Times that his administration has collected around $13 billion in revenue from the oil sales program this year.
“$13 billion from Venezuela? I think even more than that,” the president told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled to Michigan to tour a General Motors’ facility. “We’ve paid for that war many times over.”
Democrats in Congress have pressed the Trump administration to disclose how much money it has collected from the sales, how the funds are spent, and how the program is monitored.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Semafor in an April interview that the U.S. had sold around 150 million barrels of Venezuelan oil since January.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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