WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump said Friday that "a lot of money is going to be made," after huddling with more than one dozen oil executives at the White House to discuss investment in Venezuela.
"It was a great meeting we had today with the biggest companies anywhere in the world," Trump told reporters as he left the executive mansion for his Mar-a-Lago estate in the state of Florida. "They're going to be going in with hundreds of billions of dollars and drilling oil."
The comments come after Trump ordered an early-morning Jan. 3 military raid on Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores. The couple was flown out of the country, and are now standing trial in the US on drug and weapons charges.
They have maintained their innocence in court.
"Everybody’s going to be happy in South America, everybody," said Trump. "What we've done is, some people would say it's a miracle, actually, what was done. Venezuela is happy. I think they're all going to be happy."
The Venezuelan government announced Friday that it would begin an "exploratory process" to reestablish diplomatic ties with the US after the capture of Maduro.
"For the purpose of addressing this situation within the framework of international law, and in strict adherence to the principles of national sovereignty and the Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace, the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela has decided to initiate an exploratory process of a diplomatic nature with the Government of the United States of America," it said in a statement.
Caracas continued to sharply criticize the "criminal, illegitimate, and illegal aggression" that led to Maduro and Flores being whisked out of the country by US forces, saying the US operation had led to more than 100 civilian and military deaths and violated international law.