The Daily Populous Tuesday January 13rd, 2026 evening edition
Authored by apnews.com and submitted by Dramatic_Irony_

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ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday that he is “inclined” to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela after its top executive was skeptical about oil investment efforts in the country after the toppling of former President Nicolás Maduro.

“I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” Trump said to reporters on Air Force One as he departed West Palm Beach, Florida. “They’re playing too cute.”

During a meeting Friday with oil executives, Trump tried to assuage the concerns of the companies and said they would be dealing directly with the U.S., rather than the Venezuelan government.

“If we look at the commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela, today it’s uninvestable,” said Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil company.

FILE - A sign for an Exxon gas station is displayed in Upper Darby, Pa., April 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) FILE - A sign for an Exxon gas station is displayed in Upper Darby, Pa., April 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook

An ExxonMobil spokesperson did not immediately respond Sunday to a request for comment.

Also on Friday, Trump signed an executive order that seeks to ensure that Venezuelan oil revenue remains protected from being used in judicial proceedings.

The executive order, made public on Saturday, says that if the funds were to be seized for such use, it could “undermine critical U.S. efforts to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela.” Venezuela has a history of state asset seizures, ongoing U.S. sanctions and decades of political uncertainty.

Getting U.S. oil companies to invest in Venezuela and help rebuild the country’s infrastructure is a top priority of the Trump administration after Maduro’s capture.

The White House is framing the effort to “run” Venezuela in economic terms, and Trump has seized tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, has said the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan crude, and plans to control sales worldwide indefinitely.

Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Florida.

abrutus1 on January 13rd, 2026 at 07:58 UTC »

Its a bizzare stituation where it almost looks like he ordered the strikes and kidnapping thinking that American oil companies were all salivating at the thought of getting a chance to invest again in Venezuala. Now that Exxon has bluntly told him the truth, he says that they are being too cute.

GoblinTwerk on January 13rd, 2026 at 07:54 UTC »

It didn't sound like Exxon wanted in anyways. Trump is trying to make it seem like them not investing in Venezuela is his choice and not that he's actually being told no. What a child

JustinR8 on January 13rd, 2026 at 07:42 UTC »

A president gatekeeping oil rights on foreign land, this must be more of that small government they all talk about