Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Politics
Economics

Venezuela Secretly Plotted to Sell Banned Syrian Oil to the U.S.

  • Arrangement sought to refine Syrian oil in the Caribbean
  • Talks show how two outcast nations tried to help each other
Video player cover image

QuickTake: Venezuela's Oil-Based Economic Woes

Updated on

Syria and Venezuela plotted in recent years to evade international sanctions on Syria through a secret deal to transport its crude oil through Russia to the Caribbean.

The previously undisclosed plan aimed to sell Syrian oil at a big discount to Venezuela through a Russian shell company, which would send it to Aruba for refining and distribution to gas stations in the U.S. and elsewhere, according to dozens of emails, documents and interviews.