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President Donald Trump on Sunday signaled frustration with ExxonMobil after the oil giant’s CEO described Venezuela as “uninvestable,” suggesting he might bar the company from future U.S.-backed involvement there.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, D.C., Trump criticized CEO Darren Woods' response to his push for investment by U.S. firms in Venezuela’s vast energy sector.
"I didn't like Exxon response," Trump said, referring to Woods' comment during a Friday meeting where the president hosted the executives of several oil and gas companies at the White House to discuss investment opportunities in the South American country.
"I'll probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn't like their response. They're playing too cute."
During the meeting, Trump said the companies would spend at least $100 billion in Venezuela to “very rapidly rebuild (its) dilapidated oil industry."
However, Exxon's Woods said Venezuela was currently “uninvestable,” pointing to the company’s past experiences of asset seizures. "We've had our assets seized there twice, and so you can imagine that re-entering a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we've historically seen here," Woods said at the meeting.
Trump’s comments came after a Jan. 3 military operation in Venezuela to capture the country's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores and take them to the U.S. Trump said his administration would "run" Venezuela and its oil assets during a transition period.
On Friday, Trump had said that he cancelled a second wave of military attacks on Venezuela, citing improved cooperation from its interim.
A U.S. team of diplomatic and security personnel traveled to Caracas to assess the possibility of resuming operations at the U.S. Embassy.
Trump said Venezuela was "really working out well" and the U.S. was working along "really well" with the leadership.
After Maduro's capture by U.S. forces, his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as the country's acting president.
Asked whether he planned to meet Rodriguez, Trump said: “At some point, I’ll meet with her. She’s been very good.”
He also said Venezuela had offered to ship 50 million barrels of oil to the United States.
“She asked us, could we take 50 million barrels of oil and I said, ‘yes, we can’—that’s $4.2 billion, and it’s on its way right now to the United States,” he said.
Trump said he would meet Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in Washington on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Asked about possible talks with Cuba, Trump said, "We’re talking to Cuba," and that details would be revealed "pretty soon."
"One of the groups I want taken care of are the people that came from Cuba that were forced out or left under duress—and they're great citizens of the United States right now," Trump added.
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