WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration will provide security guarantees to oil companies that work in Venezuela at the US' direction.

Asked how the US would provide the firms with security without deploying troops to Venezuela, Trump said, "We're going to make sure there's very, very good security. And I think the people of Venezuela are going to give you very good security."

"We're going to work with the Venezuelan leaders and people, and we're going to have a very safe group, and they're going to also bring over some security with them," he said as he hosted more than one dozen oil executives at the White House. "The people of Venezuela are going wild over this."

Trump maintained that his officials are "getting along extremely well" with their counterparts in Acting President Delcy Rodriguez's government after the US captured President Nicolas Maduro in a military operation Jan. 3.

"Right now, they seem to be an ally, and I think it'll continue to be an ally. And we don't want to have Russia there. We don't want to have China there," he said.

Trump said the plan is for oil companies to invest $100 billion in Venezuela to develop related infrastructure in the Latin American country. "Venezuela has also agreed that the United States will immediately begin refining and selling up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, which will continue indefinitely," he said.

"We're all set to do it. We have the refining capacity," he said. "All of the companies here today are going to be treasured partners in bringing the nation of Venezuela back to life, restoring its economy and generating great wealth for their companies and for their people, and also great wealth for the American people and tremendous wealth for the companies that are going in, the companies that are going in."

The US carried out the military operation in Venezuela, capturing Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Trump said his administration would "run" Venezuela and its oil assets during a transition period.

Maduro and Flores were subsequently flown out of the country to New York, where they had an initial hearing on drug and weapons charges. They pleaded not guilty to all charges Monday.