Trump praises cooperation with Venezuela on energy sales as effective

WASHINGTON, April 2. /TASS/. The US and Venezuela are currently cooperating effectively in the production and sale of oil and gas, President Donald Trump stated. "Now we're working along with Venezuela and are, in a true sense, joint venture partners. We're getting along incredibly well in the production and sale of massive amounts of oil and gas," the US leader said during a televised address to the nation. Speaking about Venezuela, Trump also claimed that the US military "took [the country] in a matter of minutes." On January 3, the US attacked civilian and military targets in Venezuela. The country’s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto said that the US had attacked civilian and military targets in Caracas. He called Washington's actions military aggression. The US later confirmed the strikes and announced the capture and removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife from the country. On January 5, they appeared before a federal court in the Southern District of New York. The couple was charged with involvement in drug trafficking. Neither Maduro nor his wife pleaded guilty. Delcy Rodriguez, who served as executive vice president under Maduro, is currently acting as head of state in Venezuela. The US administration has stated that Washington will temporarily take over the administration of Venezuela and expressed confidence that it will obtain compensation for US oil companies from Caracas.