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Wright Discusses Venezuela Oil and Tanker Seizures with CNN's Jake Tapper

January 7, 2026 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:09:58

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright joined CNN’s Jake Tapper on January 7, 2026, days after the United States seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and, that day, two oil tankers — one in the Caribbean described by U.S. Southern Command as stateless and conducting illicit activities, and a Russian-flagged tanker in the Atlantic that Attorney General Pam Bondi, as reported in the segment, identified as part of a sanctions evasion network. Wright joined from Miami, where he had just spoken with oil industry executives.

Tapper cited CNN reporting that many industry insiders feel hesitant about doing business in Venezuela, with appetite described as pretty low. Wright pushed back, saying, as he stated it, that executives have watched Venezuela slide downhill for 25 years since Chávez came to power and continued under Maduro, with collapsing oil production and rising criminality.

Wright said, as he stated it, that the industry shares his thrill for President Trump’s bold and creative leadership, that the United States now has leverage and is constructively working with Venezuela’s interim authorities to move the country in a better direction, and that interest in going into Venezuela to investigate and invest is strong.

Why it matters

The appearance is part of the administration’s energy agenda — expanding supply, grid capacity, and permitting — and its claims about prices, projects, and markets are the record against which its energy promises will be measured.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins CNN’s Jake Tapper - January 7, 2026”, 2026-01-07 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-01-07). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.