US President Donald Trump said that thanks to control over Venezuela, the United States will soon fill its national reserves, infohub.kz reports.
During an interview with Time magazine, Trump was asked about Venezuela. "How are we doing there?" the journalist asked directly.
According to the interview transcript, the journalist wanted to know whether Trump had discussed holding elections in Venezuela with acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
In response, Trump said he had "good relations" with Rodríguez, as the US is bringing major oil companies there.
"We're producing a tremendous amount of oil. Soon we'll fill our national reserves — the national strategic reserves. We have very good relations. When President Bush (George W. Bush — ed.) smashed Iraq, everyone was fired. There was no one to run the country. I did it differently. I didn't fire the police. I didn't fire the army. I didn't fire anyone. And Delcy ran everything. We work well together. Even now. Elections could have been held there," Trump replied.
He added that he would like to see presidential elections in Venezuela, but in his view the situation there is still "raw."
"I just think it's too early. There's Exxon, Chevron — all the major oil companies are coming in. We're making big money, but Venezuela is making money too, and we control it all completely," Trump concluded.
Recall that Donald Trump recently announced a oil deal with Venezuela, calling it the "largest in world history."
Later, Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodríguez in an address to the nation spoke about the country's revenue under the oil agreement with the US. After the deal, Trump said that Venezuelan oil would replenish US strategic reserves. He called it a "gift to the American people."