President Donald Trump has brokered a deal to begin accessing Venezuela’s gold and build on his already extending reach into the country’s oil sector.
Under Trump’s direction, the administration struck a deal that will see Venezuela’s state-owned mining company, Minerven, sell gold to the global trader Trafigura, a White house official confirmed. Trump is pushing a pro-business agenda in Venezuela after commandos captured President Nicolás Maduro in January.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s trip to Venezuela with other members of the National Energy Dominance Council “sealed the deal,” the official said. “We are helping Venezuela restore their mining sector, which will help American industry get the minerals we need,” they said.
Burgum arrived in Caracas on Tuesday with more than two dozen mining companies, traders and investors to hype the country’s mining sector as Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez vowed to push reforms to open the country to more investment.
