US has taken oil from seized Venezuelan tankers, Trump tells NY Post

The US military has seized seven Venezuela linked tankers in month long campaign

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media during the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Jan 22, 2026. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The United States has taken the oil that was on seized Venezuelan tankers and will process it in US refineries, President Donald Trump said in a New York Post interview that was published on Saturday.

"Let’s put it this way — they don’t have any oil. We take the oil,” Trump told the newspaper.

The oil is being refined in "various places" including Houston, he said.

The US military has seized seven Venezuela-linked tankers since the start of Trump's month-long campaign to control Venezuela's oil flows.

Trump said on Tuesday that his administration had taken 50 million barrels of oil out of Venezuela, and was selling some of it in the open market.