Trump touts good relations with Venezuela, says oil magnate Sargeant does not represent US

WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that billionaire energy entrepreneur and Republican donor Harry Sargeant III has no authority to act on behalf of the U.S., adding that relations between the U.S. and Venezuela had been "extraordinary."

"He has no authority, in any way, shape, or form, to act on behalf of the United States of America, nor does anyone else that is not approved by the State Department. Without this approval, no one is authorized to represent our Country," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, apparently referring to a Wall Street Journal story published on Wednesday.

Reuters reported in January that Sargeant and his team were 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, though Sargeant said he is not a formal adviser.

Trump said Washington was "dealing very well" with Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez, praising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other U.S. representatives.

"Relations between Venezuela and the United States have been, to put it mildly, extraordinary!" Trump said in his post. "But we speak only for ourselves, and don’t want there to be any confusion or misrepresentation."

Sargeant, who has long-standing ties to Venezuela’s oil industry, is a golfing buddy of Trump's and a Republican donor.

Sargeant's businesses in Venezuela, where he has worked since the 1980s, buy and export asphalt, which can be made from the kind of heavy crude oil produced in the South American country. He has also invested in the production of several of the country’s oil fields.

He has told Reuters he has a long history of dealing with senior Venezuelan officials, including Rodriguez and U.S.-ousted President Nicolas Maduro. Sources have said he has discussed with U.S. officials the need for investment in upgrading Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.

In February 2025, he helped broker a meeting between special U.S. envoy Richard Grenell and Maduro in which the two discussed the deportation of migrants back to Venezuela, the release of American prisoners and the potential extension by the U.S. of a license for Chevron to operate in the country, Sargeant told Reuters.