First Sale of Seized Venezuelan Oil Goes to Trump Mega-Donor

The first US sale of Venezuelan oil since the Trump administration illegally attacked the South American country earlier this month went to a company owned by a trader who donated millions to President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, Jake Johnson reported for Common Dreams.

The Financial Times reported late last week that John Addison, a senior trader at Vitol, was involved in the company’s efforts to secure the deal. (Photo: Vitol Terminal Latvia)

The roughly $250 million sale of Venezuelan crude went to Vitol, a Geneva-based energy and commodities trading firm whose US arm is headquartered in Houston.

The Financial Times reported late last week that John Addison, a senior trader at Vitol, was involved in the company’s efforts to secure the deal.

Addison, who attended a recent White House meeting with other top oil executives, donated a total of $6 million to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign through several super PACs, including $5 million to MAGA Inc.

“Addison pledged to Trump at the [White House] event that Vitol would attain the best price possible for Venezuelan oil for the US, ‘so that the influence you have over the Venezuelans will ensure that you get what you want,’” the Financial Times reported.

US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) noted on social media that Vitol has a “criminal history of bribing foreign governments” and called the Venezuelan oil deal “fundamentally corrupt.”

“Trump took Venezuela’s oil at gunpoint and gave it to one of his biggest campaign donors,” Murphy wrote. “Vitol had to buy access to Trump because under normal circumstances they wouldn’t be able to get a deal like this.”

Proceeds from the oil sale are being held in Qatar, an arrangement critics say opens the door to further corruption.