Leader denies foreign rule in Venezuela

CARACAS — Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez insisted on Tuesday that no foreign power was governing her country, even as US President Donald Trump announced that Caracas will swiftly turn over millions of barrels of oil to the United States.

"The government of Venezuela is in charge in our country, and no one else," Rodriguez said three days after US forces forcibly seized President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a stunning raid in Caracas.

"There is no foreign agent governing Venezuela," she said.

Trump insists that Washington is now "in charge" of the Caribbean country but has said he is prepared to work with Rodriguez — provided she submits to his demand for access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves.

The US leader was startlingly direct about his intent regarding Venezuela's reserves, announcing on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday that Rodriguez "will be turning over between 30 and 50 million barrels of high quality, sanctioned oil" to the US.

"This oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me" as president, Trump said, adding that he has tasked Energy Secretary Chris Wright with "immediately" executing the plan.

Trump has also suggested the US would help rebuild Venezuela's oil infrastructure to benefit oil majors such as Exxon Mobil and Conoco-Phillips, which were affected by Venezuelan oil nationalization by former president Hugo Chavez, and Chevron Corp, which has continued to operate there.

US oil chief executives are expected to visit the White House as early as Thursday to discuss investments in Venezuela, according to three sources familiar with the planning, Reuters reported.

With oil trading at roughly $56 a barrel, the transaction Trump announced on Tuesday could be worth as much as $2.8 billion. The US consumes roughly 20 million barrels of oil and related products a day, so Venezuela's transfer would be equivalent to as much as two and a half days of supply, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

In Caracas, Rodriguez said Venezuelans "remain steadfast" in their bid to defend the nation.

"We are a people that does not surrender, we are a people that does not give up," she said, paying tribute to the "martyrs" of the US attacks.

The country is holding seven days of mourning for those killed, she said.

Demonstrations will be held across the country to demand the release of the presidential couple from US custody, she said.

Despite the assault on Venezuela, the country continues to fulfill its production, supply and export cycle, she added.

In its first confirmation of losses, Venezuela's military published on Tuesday a list of 23 troops, including five generals, killed in the US strikes.

Cuba's government separately issued a list of 32 dead Cuban military personnel, many of whom were members of Maduro's security detail.

Venezuela has not yet confirmed the number of civilian casualties. Attorney-General Tarek William Saab spoke on Tuesday of "dozens" of civilian and military dead, without giving a breakdown.

Also on Tuesday, Rodriguez picked Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez as the new commander of the Presidential Honor Guard and director of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence, replacing Javier Marcano Tabata.

She appointed Calixto Ortega Sanchez, who led Venezuela's central bank from 2018 to 2025, to her Cabinet's top economic post.

Meanwhile, thousands of supporters of the presidential couple, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, marched through Caracas demanding their release.

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appeared in court on Monday in New York, pleading not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges.

Agencies - Xinhua