President Donald J. Trump announced on January 7, 2026, that Venezuela's interim authorities will transfer between 30 and 50 million barrels of high-quality, sanctioned oil to the United States, according to an X post quoting the president shared over the past 59 minutes ending at 12:15 p.m. UTC. The X post by @alejoraal directly quotes Trump stating the interim authorities "will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America." Separately, Cuban officials lowered flags before dawn on Monday to mourn 32 security officers they say were killed by U.S. forces in the January 3 raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, as reported by the Associated Press in an X post during the reporting window. This Cuban action follows a prior claim by Havana of 32 military and intelligence members killed in the same U.S. Delta Force operation, as stated in an earlier X post by @LucasFoxNews before 8:45 a.m. UTC. The oil transfer announcement comes amid ongoing U.S. sanctions enforcement on Venezuelan crude, including three additional U.S.-sanctioned tankers that operated in Venezuelan waters and now fly the Russian flag, according to a New York Times update shared before 11:15 a.m. UTC.
