VENEZUELA -- Venezuelan lawmakers have approved a law change that will make it easier for foreign companies to take part in the country’s oil industry, in a move by Caracas to meet the demands of US President Donald Trump.

The reform, backed by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, will open up the Venezuelan oil industry, at present largely controlled by state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), and allow foreign companies to manage oilfields at their own risk and cost.

It comes as Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs on countries supplying oil to Cuba, declaring a national security emergency over the issue.

Since the US captured Rodríguez’s predecessor, President Nicolás Maduro, at the beginning of January it has repeatedly made clear it wants American companies to invest in Venezuela’s oil industry.

Venezuela has more proven oil reserves than any nation on the planet. The new law could help the country maximize its profits from them, Rodríguez said Thursday night.

“This law allows us to make a true historic qualitative leap to turn those oil reserves, the largest on the planet, into the greatest happiness a people can have, with the Venezuelan people as the rightful owners of that happiness,” she told a crowd at an event celebrating the move.

National Assembly leader Jorge Rodríguez, the brother of the acting president, echoed that sentiment and said the move will “boost the energy sector, promoting oil production in undeveloped fields.”

Venezuela’s legislature unanimously approved the reform Thursday afternoon in a second reading. It now must be signed by Rodríguez and published before coming into force.

That same day, Trump signed an executive order threatening to impose additional tariffs on any country that “directly or indirectly provides oil to Cuba.”

In the order, Trump said the policies and actions of Cuba’s government “constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security and foreign policy.

This includes Cuba’s alignment with hostile nations such as Russia and its harboring of transnational terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas as well as its persecution of political opponents, suppression of free speech and corruption, according to the document.

Maduro’s capture removed the Cuban government’s closest ally from power and severed its supply of fuel – perhaps permanently – from the oil rich South American nation.

Havana depended on Venezuela for more than one third of its oil needs, according to energy industry analysts. The US attack disrupted those shipments of oil and now both blackouts and gas lines across Cuba have grown longer and longer in recent days.

Speaking ahead of the “Melania” premiere Thursday night, Trump told reporters he is not trying to choke out Cuba’s economy.

“Cuba is a failing nation, and you have to feel badly for Cuba,” he said. “They’ve treated people very badly. Many Cuban Americans were mistreated and would probably like to return. I don’t think Cuba will be able to survive.”

The Cuban government on Thursday condemned Trump’s tariff threat, with Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez calling it “a brutal act of aggression against Cuba and its people.”

“The US also resorts to blackmail and coercion, in an attempt to get other countries to join its universally condemned blockade policy against Cuba,” Rodríguez wrote on X. “We denounce to the world this brutal act of aggression against Cuba and its people.”

Regarding Venezuela, two sources told CNN earlier this month that the Trump administration is planning to use private military contractors to protect oil and energy assets in the country.

However, some oil executives have expressed discomfort with the idea of sending capital into Venezuela. The CEO of Exxon Mobil said at a White House meeting shortly after Maduro’s capture that the country is “uninvestible” in its current state.

Easing restrictions

Venezuela’s new law was approved on the same day that the US Treasury eased some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry. It issued a general license authorizing US companies to carry out certain activities with the Venezuelan government related to the export, purchase, sale, storage, and transportation of the country’s oil, among other operations.

It marked the latest easing of restrictions by the Trump administration since the acting Venezuelan government signaled it would cooperate with the US and meet many of its demands.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump said he had informed Rodríguez that the US would be “opening up” the commercial airspace above Venezuela, even though it is not technically considered closed. It comes two months after Trump issued a broad directive on social media, warning airlines, pilots and criminal networks to avoid Venezuelan airspace.

“American citizens will be, very shortly, able to go to Venezuela, and they’ll be safe there, and be safe. It’s under very strong control,” Trump said Thursday at a meeting of his Cabinet.

Jorge Rodríguez credited Trump’s announcement to his sister’s diplomatic efforts.

“I believe it is very positive. I think it is a direct consequence of the peace diplomacy that has been carried out by the presidency,” he said.

CNN’s Sol Amaya contributed to this report.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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