Trump ally defends Venezuela oil deal amid ‘gunpoint diplomacy’ criticism

<p>Energy secretary Chris Wright denies US seeks to ‘take’ country’s oil, saying deal is ‘transformation’ of relations</p><p>The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, has denied Washington is seeking to commandeer huge quantities of Venezuelan oil, amid growing criticism of Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/01/trump-venezuela-oil-deal">energy deal</a> with the country’s interim leaders.</p><p>“Absolutely not,” Wright replied when asked by a CNBC journalist if the US was engaged in a “heavy-handed” attempt to “take” Venezuelan oil in violation of the South American country’s constitution.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/02/venezuela-oil-deal-trump-chris-wright">Continue reading...</a>