Trump supporter and oil magnate Harry Sargeant advising US on Venezuela, sources say [View all]

Source: Reuters

Exclusive-Trump supporter and oil magnate Harry Sargeant advising US on Venezuela, sources say

By Erin Banco, Sarah Kinosian and Matt Spetalnick
Thu, January 8, 2026 at 3:09 PM EST 6 min read

WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Billionaire energy entrepreneur and Republican donor Harry Sargeant III and his team are advising the Trump administration on how the U.S. can engineer a return of some American oil companies to Venezuela, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

The involvement of Sargeant, who has long-standing ties to Venezuela’s oil industry, underscores the Trump administration's reliance on U.S. oil executives for guidance on how to administer the country's energy sector following ​last week's dramatic U.S. military operation that resulted in the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday the U.S. would refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, as U.S. forces continued seizing oil tankers ‌linked to Venezuela.

"That money will then be handled in such a way that we will control how it is disbursed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people," he said.

-snip-

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-trump-supporter-oil-magnate-200927653.html