"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," Trump said.

Rodríguez's outreach during the first Trump administration made her a prominent face in U.S. business and political circles and paved the way for her own rise.

The Trump administration has outlined a number of demands that Venezuela must agree to order to resume oil production, two senior White House officials told CNN.

Companies like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips say that Venezuela owes them billions of dollars for confiscating their assets two decades ago.

The raids are the latest assertion of American power to follow the abduction of Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s president, on January 3rd. The Bella 1 has a long and complicated history. It is owned by a newly formed Russian company.

Jesse Watters claimed that the US taking Venezuela’s oil was legitimate because it looted Japan for gold in WW2

Democrats say the president cannot take money from the proceeds of seized oil and control it himself, calling it a ‘slush fund’ that would fly in the face of the Constitution.

A onetime adviser to Marco Rubio and Mitt Romney argues that the U.S. has been “too cautious” in its use of force since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.