US President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed that India has signed a deal to buy Venezuelan oil.
There was no confirmation or comment from India on the claim until late Sunday evening, even as the Opposition wondered why Trump was making India-related announcements, citing earlier instances of a “ceasefire” during Operation Sindoor and cutting back on oil purchases from Russia.
Trump’s claim comes a day after Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez dialled Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, and the two leaders agreed to expand and deepen their partnership in various areas, including energy.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump was responding to a question on whether China would recover the money it had lent to Venezuela in exchange for oil. “China is welcome to come in and would make a great deal on oil. We welcome China. We’ve already made a deal. India is coming in, and they’re going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran. So we’ve already made that deal, the concept of the deal,” he responded.
India had stopped buying oil from Iran in 2019 after Trump imposed fresh sanctions on the Persian Gulf country. India also began cutting back on oil purchases from Russia recently.
After Trump imposed sanctions on Venezuela in 2017 during his first term in the White House, India had cut back on purchasing Venezuelan oil.
As a result, bilateral trade with Venezuela fell from $6,397 million in 2019-20 to $96 million in 2023-24. In 2019-20, Venezuela accounted for about 7 per cent of India’s total crude imports. Venezuelan crude today has a negligible presence in India’s oil basket.
Sharing an audio recording of Trump’s latest claim on X, the Congress said: “Today, President Trump announces: India will now buy oil from Venezuela instead of Iran. India today is being run by a weak and shameless Modi government. Prime Minister Modi, since when does a foreign President decide India’s policies? Who gave the United States the right to dictate our national interests? Where is our independent foreign policy? Will other countries now decide where India buys oil from and where it doesn’t?”
Speaking in a similar vein, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi said: “He (Trump) announced de-escalation between India and Pakistan, first ever in history. He announced India had reduced Russian oil purchase, again a first. He has now announced an agreement that has been reached with India to buy oil from Venezuela over Iranian crude, this comes after India exiting Chabahar Port, Iran, while Indians have no clue on what is being traded to get the trade deal. While US President continues to work towards his country’s national interest, back home in India we have a government which is outsourcing India’s national interest? Will the government clarify?”