U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said that as of March 7, $100 million worth of gold has been transported from Venezuela to the United States after the government authorized dealings with a Venezuelan state-owned gold mining company.
"That's for both industrial purposes as well as other commercial uses," Burgum told Fox News in an interview that aired March 8.
"Venezuela's got $100 billion of resources of gold, but they've also got other critical minerals, bauxite for aluminum, which we need for defense, and for consumer goods. They've got coal resources that can be used to help generate power ... to help us win the AI arms race with China."
Burgum added that Venezuela’s government gave security assurances to mining companies interested in investing in the country, where mineral-rich areas have long been controlled by guerrilla members, gangs, and other illegal groups.
Burgum's comments come as the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on March 6 authorized certain dealings with Minerven, Venezuela's state-owned gold mining company. It's the latest sign of the Trump administration's attempts to strike deals over the country's vast reserves of natural resources following the U.S. military capture of President Nicolás Maduro in early January.
Under the order, individuals and entities from Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba are not authorized to enter into any contracts with Minerven.
This past week, Burgum visited Venezuela and met with acting President Delcy Rodriguez and representatives of more than two dozen U.S. mining and minerals companies. Many of them had previously operated in Venezuela.
The companies looking to work in Venezuela “represent billions of dollars in investment and thousands of dollars in high-paying jobs," Burgum told reporters on March 4 in Caracas while standing next to Rodriguez.
“When we are working together can only mean two things, which is prosperity for the people of Venezuela and for the citizens of the United States, and it also brings peace and stability for the world,” he said, adding that the Trump administration is looking to "cut the red tape" to "allow capital investment to flow" into the country.
The Trump administration seeks to defend against the Chinese regime’s hold on critical minerals, some of which are abundant in Venezuela. The order seeks to advance the administration's plan to turn around the South American country after Maduro's capture.
Trump has praised Rodriguez, the former vice president under Maduro, for her cooperation with the United States after her boss's ouster. Maduro faces federal drug-related charges in the United States, and he pleaded not guilty in January to those charges in a federal court in New York.
“Delcy Rodriguez, who is the President of Venezuela, is doing a great job, and working with U.S. Representatives very well,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social this past week on the same day that Burgum met with her.
"The Oil is beginning to flow, and the professionalism and dedication between both Countries is a very nice thing to see."