Trump says US will no longer buy oil from Venezuela: 'It’s just insane what we’re doing'

President-elect Donald Trump sent two messages to the regime of Nicolás Maduro on Monday. The first, that the United States will stop buying oil from Venezuela because, according to his criteria, the country has no need to do so and, second, that it must accept deported illegal Venezuelan immigrants or else face harsh economic consequences.

"We don’t have to buy energy from Venezuela when we have 50 times more than they do — it’s just insane what we’re doing. We will not rest until America is richer, safer, and stronger than it’s ever been before," Trump told the press.

A member of the press then asked the president-elect if his transition team was holding talks with the Maduro regime regarding its plans for mass deportation. Trump did not directly answer the question, but he did send a clear warning to the Venezuelan socialist dictator.

"They'll take them back. They're all taking them back. And if they don't, they'll be met very harshly economically," Trump said.

The president-elect's remarks comen as U.S. oil leaders press him to reach out to the Caracas regime and strike an immigration deal with Venezuela in exchange for keeping oil licenses.

However, the oil emissaries suffered several setbacks after Trump appointed Mike Waltz as his National Security Advisor and Cuban-American Marco Rubio as Secretary of State.

Both Republicans are harsh critics of Maduro and allies of the Venezuelan opposition, led by conservative María Corina Machado.

Machado, who is in hiding while Maduro's regime persecutes her and her team, has put together in the last year a political movement seeking to depose the socialist dictator from power. With the strong support of Venezuelan society, Machado, politically disqualified by the Maduro regime, endorsed diplomat Edmundo González as the opposition candidate in the most recent presidential "elections" in Venezuela.

As expected, the electoral authorities, controlled by Maduro, gave the win to the dictator while the opposition led by Machado collected evidence of Gonzalez's victory with the ballots reported by the voting machines. Thanks to the ballots, Western countries, including the U.S., recognized Gonzalez as the president-elect of Venezuela, who exiled to Spain amid threats against him and his family.

Now Gonzalez, who remains under threat from Maduro and his allies, has promised to return to Venezuela on January 10 to be sworn in as the new president of the South American country.

According to electoral evidence won by the opposition, Gonzalez defeated Maduro by a wide margin of two to one.

Following the electoral fraud, the Maduro regime increased political repression, kidnapping hundreds of opposition activists and thousands of citizens who demonstrated following the announcement by the National Electoral Council. Leading human rights organizations have reported cases of torture and even extrajudicial killings in the post-election period.