Speaking at a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington on November 11, President Donald Trump said China and Russia left Venezuela after he personally called them and told them to go. He described both countries as having been "nibbling at the edges" and added that, unlike them, the United States did not leave. Trump also said millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil are now coming out every week, bringing in billions of dollars, and predicted the total would reach hundreds of billions "very soon." He said the cost of the US military operation there has been recovered many times over. Supporters online have hailed the remarks as a win for the Western Hemisphere.

Many questions remain unanswered, and the claims are Trump's own. He did not say when he made the calls, who he spoke to, or what China and Russia actually did in response, and neither government was quoted confirming it in the coverage I found. The oil revenue figures were also given without supporting data, so they should be treated as the president's claims until independently verified. Whether more Venezuelan oil will lower gas prices at home is a separate question the remarks did not settle. For now, what is on the record is what Trump said at Arlington, and the rest depends on what Beijing, Moscow and Caracas say next.