Trump didn't rule out eventually visiting Venezuela: 'I think at some point it will be safe.'

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated that his administration expects to maintain direct oversight of Venezuela for a few years. Meanwhile, it is moving forward with the reconstruction of the oil sector in the South American country. In that context, he did not rule out the possibility of personally traveling to Venezuelan territory in the future.

"I think at some point it will be safe", Trump noted during an extensive interview granted to The New York Times from the Oval Office. The president maintained that the current interim Venezuelan government "is giving us everything that we consider necessary."

When asked about the duration of U.S. oversight —which is being maintained with a naval fleet stationed off the Venezuelan coast—, Trump avoided giving details: "Only time will tell". When pressed on whether it would be a matter of months or years, he replied: "I would say a lot longer."

Oil reconstruction and exports

During the interview, Trump asserted that his administration's strategy seeks to rebuild Venezuela "in a very profitable way". "We are going to use oil, and we are going to take oil. We are bringing oil prices down, and we are going to give money to Venezuela, which needs it desperately", he stated.

His statements became known a few hours after U.S. government officials announced that the United States will indefinitely assume effective control of the sale of Venezuelan oil. The measure is part of a three-phase plan presented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio before Congress.

Trump also pointed out that the United States has already begun to generate revenue from crude that had remained under international sanctions. In that regard, he recalled his announcement that the country would obtain between 30 and 50 million barrels of heavy Venezuelan oil. 

However, he acknowledged that the full recovery of the sector will take time. "The oil will take a while", he admitted.

The operation against Maduro and his connection with Delcy Rodriguez

The U.S. president appeared particularly satisfied with the military operation that culminated in the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife. According to his account, he closely followed the training of the forces, which included the construction of a full-scale replica of the compound at a military base in Kentucky.

"You know you did not have a Jimmy Carter crashing helicopters all over the place. You also did not have a Biden Afghanistan disaster where they could not carry out the simplest maneuver", Trump stated, as he compared the operation with previous experiences of other administrations.

On the other hand, Trump avoided explaining why he decided to recognize Delcy Rodríguez as interim president of Venezuela. This implied withdrawing support from María Corina Machado, whose camp led the 2024 electoral campaign and was recently honored with the Nobel Peace Prize.

The president declined to answer whether he had held direct conversations with Rodríguez, although he clarified: "Marco talks to her all the time" and added that there is "constant communication with her and the administration".

He also made no commitments regarding the calling of elections in Venezuela, nor did he specify which scenarios could lead to a possible deployment of U.S. troops on the ground. "I would not like to tell you that", he replied when asked. When he was asked about the role of Russia and China, he insisted that the allies of Chavismo "are treating us with great respect".

A relationship conditioned by oil

Trump reiterated that, despite the hostile public rhetoric, the sectors surrounding Maduro are cooperating with Washington. "They are giving us everything that we consider necessary", he stated. Meanwhile, he recalled the nationalization of U.S. oil assets in Venezuela years ago: "Do not forget that they took the oil away from us years ago".

The U.S. president's statements reinforce the idea of a prolonged U.S. presence in Venezuela, a relationship with oil as the central axis of the political and economic strategy in the stage after Chavismo.