
The first U.S.-brokered sale of Venezuelan crude under President Donald Trump's new energy plan went to Vitol, a global oil trading firm whose senior U.S.-based trader has been a major donor to Trump's re-election campaign, people familiar with the transaction and public records told the Financial Times.
John Addison, a senior trader at Vitol, was involved in securing a roughly $250 million deal for Venezuelan oil. Addison donated about $6 million to political action committees backing Trump's 2024 re-election effort, including $5 million to Maga Inc in October, according to OpenSecrets.