US letting China buy Venezuela oil but not at ‘unfair’ Maduro prices, official says
The US says it will control the Latin American nation’s oil sales indefinitely after seizing its leader
The Trump administration is allowing China to purchase Venezuelan oil but not at “unfair, undercut” prices at which Caracas sold the crude before the US removed President Nicolas Maduro, a US official said on Thursday.
While the oil will be sold in the global marketplace, the administration has required that the majority be sold to the United States, the administration official said on condition of anonymity.
The US says it will control Venezuela’s oil sales indefinitely after seizing Maduro on January 3.
“Thanks to President [Donald] Trump’s decisive and successful law enforcement operation, the people of Venezuela will collect a fair price for their oil from China and other nations rather than a corrupt, cheap price,” the official said.
China has been Venezuela’s top oil buyer for years, and the sales helped Caracas repay massive loans to Beijing in debt-for-oil deals.
The administration is allowing China to buy the oil at “fair market prices – not the unfair, undercut prices” at which Maduro sold oil to China to pay debts, the official said.