The United States will rule Venezuela and extract oil from its vast reserves for years, Trump said in an interview with The New York Times.
"Only time will tell," he said when asked how long it will take.
When the reporter asked if it was about a year or more, his answer was:
"I would say much longer."
According to Trump, Venezuela's interim government, consisting entirely of loyalists to the now-imprisoned Nicolás Maduro, is providing the United States "everything we deem necessary."
"We will build it in a very profitable way," he said.
"We will use oil and we will take oil. We will bring down oil prices and we will give money to Venezuela, which they desperately need."
The president also wrote on Truth Social that Venezuela will only buy American-made products with the money it receives from the new oil deal with the United States. According to Trump, this includes pharmaceuticals and agricultural products.
