U.S. officially starts to sell Venezuelan oil: U.S. official

The United States has finished its first sale of Venezuelan oil, valued at 500 million U.S. dollars, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, adding that more oil sales are expected in the coming days and weeks.

The U.S. military forces raided and seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on Jan. 3 after carrying out a large-scale strike.

Since then, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity, saying that the U.S. will be controlling Venezuelan oil sales indefinitely and that the Venezuelan authorities "will be turning over" between 30 million and 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the United States.

Venezuela has the world's largest proven crude oil reserves, with approximately 303 billion barrels or about 17 percent of the global total, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The multilateral system is "under attack" amid global turmoil, President of the 80th UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock warned in her remarks on Wednesday.

In her briefing on the priorities for the resumed 80th Session of the General Assembly, the UNGA president noted that the current multilateral system does not collapse all in a sudden, but "crumbles piece by piece" in divisions, compromises, and lack of political commitment.

The president called all the UN member states to defend the UN Charter and international law and promote cross-regional cooperation.

She also urged to push forward the work of the UNGA on certain critical issues with a strong majority, rather than an absolute consensus among all member states. Such act is not a failure of multilateralism, but "an affirmation of it," she said.

The foundational principles of the institution should not be eroded by appeasement, she said, calling the member states to show courage, leadership, and responsibility at the UN's "critical make-or-break moment."

"The UN needs you. Your support, your leadership, your principle, stand, your cross-regional cooperation, if we are to preserve and modernize this institution, if we are to make it, rather than break it," she said.