Kathmandu. U.S. President Donald Trump has said that U.S. oil companies will be allowed to enter Venezuela and exploit its vast oil reserves.

This announcement has come after the US military action. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were taken to New York City.

The U.S. military launched an airstrike in Caracas on Saturday morning. The Maduro couple have been detained and charged with drug trafficking and weapons.

“The world’s largest oil companies will invest billions of dollars to improve oil infrastructure and create revenue for the country,” Trump said at a news conference. ”

“The embargo on Venezuelan oil will remain in full force,” he added. ”

The United States imposed economic sanctions on Venezuela in 2017 and an oil embargo in 2019.

Venezuela produces less than 1 million barrels of oil a day, and most of it is sold at a discount on the black market. According to Trump, Venezuela is spending its oil earnings on “drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping”.

At the start of his second term, in 2025, the license that allowed multinational oil companies to operate in Venezuela was terminated. During this time, only the American company Chevron was given special permission. Chevron operates four oil fields in Venezuela in partnership with state-owned PDVSA.

The United States has also imposed a complete ban on the trade of banned tankers with Venezuela.

According to the International Energy Agency (IAEA), Venezuela has about 17 percent of the world’s oil reserves. However, years of mismanagement and corruption have prevented the country from becoming a major oil producer.

Because Venezuela’s oil is of poor quality and most of it is used for diesel or other byproducts, refineries around the Gulf of Mexico in the U.S. are specially designed to process the oil, analysts say.