Washington DC - President Donald Trump claimed that Venezuela's interim government would hand over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of "sanctioned oil" to the US after the violent overthrow of Nicolas Maduro.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said the oil would be sold at market prices and that the proceeds would be controlled by him as president to ensure they were used "to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States."

"I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately. It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States," he added.

The US bombed Venezuela on Saturday and abducted its president, Nicolás Maduro, removing him from the country to stand trial in New York over drug-trafficking charges. After the operation – a blatant violation of international law, according to experts – Trump said that the US would run Venezuela and exploit its natural resources for the benefit of American oil companies.

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But acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez has rejected the Republican's claims, saying: "The Venezuelan government rules our country, and no one else does. There is no external agent governing Venezuela."

She did not comment on Trump's oil announcement.

It was also not immediately clear over what period of time the amount of crude oil mentioned by Trump would be provided.

The volume is roughly equivalent to Venezuela's total oil industry output over one to two months. Oil sales are the government's main source of revenue and foreign exchange.

Based on current prices and using US benchmark crude WTI for February delivery at $58.65 per barrel as of Tuesday afternoon, the proceeds could be worth up to $2.9 billion.

The loss of revenue would hit hard in a country already driven to economic collapse by years of crippling US sanctions, while the expected gains for the US would be minimal.