US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that interim authorities in Venezuela had agreed to transfer between 30 and 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the US to be sold at market price.

"I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America," Trump said in a statement via his social media company Truth Social.

"This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!" he added.

The president added that Energy Secretary Chris Wright had been asked to execute the plan "immediately," with the oil to be transported on storage ships directly to US unloading docks.

US forces launched widespread airstrikes early Saturday on targets in northern Venezuela, including air defense systems and communications infrastructure, while special operations forces conducted a raid in the capital Caracas to seize the country's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

During the first hearing in their trial on drug- and weapons-related charges, both Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Trump administration has framed the operation as part of a revived enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine and a crackdown on alleged narco-trafficking and corruption, while also explicitly linking it to securing US influence over Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. (AA)

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