President Donald Trump has announced the transfer of 30 to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan “sanctioned” crude oil to the United States, which will be “taken” and transported on “storage ships.” This description aligns with Venezuelan tankers carrying up to 16 million barrels, stranded off the coast since a complete U.S. naval blockade began on December 5. The operation is valued between 1.8 and 3 billion dollars, resembling more a confiscation threat than a commercial sale. So far, Venezuelan authorities have not officially commented on this announcement, leaving all information to come unilaterally from President Trump.
Authored by: La Tabla/Data Journalism Platform 7 JAN 2026
Trump: “The interim authorities of Venezuela will deliver between 30 and 50 million barrels of high-quality, sanctioned oil to the United States… It will be transported on storage ships directly to unloading docks in the United States.”
The reality: The oil President Donald Trump announced would be “taken” and transported on “storage ships” from Venezuela is largely the same crude oil that has been stranded off the Venezuelan coast since December due to the naval blockade imposed by his own administration, accumulating on tankers that are unable to depart.
The announcement, made on January 6, 2026, does not refer to new production but to the direct seizure of crude stocks that Venezuela couldn’t export due to U.S. military encirclement.
The blockade chain: from the “Skipper” to logistic collapse
The storage crisis that now allows Washington to claim the oil as its own began on December 5. On that day, U.S. forces captured the sanctioned tanker “Skipper” in international waters, loaded with crude worth at least 50 million dollars. This marked the first act under the “total and complete” blockade announced by Trump against all oil vessels entering or leaving Venezuela.
The effect was immediate and paralyzing. Dozens of ships, including many from the so-called “ghost fleet” that Venezuela used to evade sanctions, ceased docking in Venezuelan ports for fear of further seizures. Shipping activity, according to analysts, became “frozen.”
The numbers of a floating bottleneck
Satellite and maritime tracking data reveal the scale of the trapped oil:
· Sea accumulation: By early January, several ships loaded and destined mainly for China remained anchored off the Venezuelan coast. These alone carry about 7.33 million barrels.
· Total volume stranded: The blockade has resulted in over half of the oil loaded in December (an average of about 423,000 barrels daily) failing to depart from Venezuelan waters. Bloomberg reports cited in market analysis estimated that by mid-December at least three supertankers, with a combined capacity of around 6 million barrels, had been loaded but remained stranded.
· Capacity at the limit: The blockade did not just affect ships at sea. PDVSA’s onshore storage tanks also filled up to a critical level. By December 31, the state-owned company had approximately 25 million barrels of residual fuels stored, with no place to put more product. By mid-December, analysts warned that the country’s storage capacity could reach its limit in about 10 days, forcing the closure of wells.
· National inventory: Venezuela’s total inventory of oil and derivatives (onshore and offshore) reached recent highs. According to the latest report, the country had stored up to 22 million barrels by the end of last year, unable to export them.
From “blockade” to “seizure”: the confirmed hypothesis
Trump’s announcement directly connects with this operational reality. By stating that the crude will be “taken by storage ships,” the description precisely matches the situation of tankers that have been functioning as forced floating depots.
This is not a conventional commercial sale, but the materialization of the blockade threat. First, the U.S. physically prevented oil from leaving Venezuela. Now, it announces that the same oil, valued between 1.8 to 3 billion dollars at current prices, will be delivered.
The Trump administration’s narrative is that this oil will be sold and the funds, personally controlled by the president, will be used “for the benefit of the people of Venezuela and the United States.” However, for Caracas and market actors, the operation is read differently: it’s the seizure of a war booty that was already physically surrounded, an unprecedented move turning economic pressure into direct appropriation of resources.
While the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez, recognized by Washington, negotiates a way out, the oil they couldn’t sell is now the center of a new type of transaction: not from the wells, but from the tanks and ships where the U.S. blockade confined it.