President Donald Trump announced late Friday a plan to take majority control of Venezuela’s oil reserves, which would give the U.S. access to at least 65 billion barrels of oil.
The agreement with Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, is intended to double American oil reserves and lower gas costs, Trump said on Truth Social. American consumers are facing rising prices due to the U.S. conflict with Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz, a consequential waterway in the Persian Gulf that serves as a vital transportation route for the global energy market.
The president has faced pressure to lower costs, especially ahead of the midterm elections, though it’s unclear whether this deal will directly lead to the decrease Trump is seeking.
Trump signaled in January that he intended to take control of Venezuela’s oil reserves, which are among the largest in the world, days after an American military operation captured then-President Nicolás Maduro and his wife at their compound in Caracas.
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On Friday, Trump said the deal — which he deemed the “biggest oil deal in world history” — would help set Venezuela “on a course toward Tremendous Success and Great Prosperity.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth worked with Rodríguez through a partnership with private businesses to secure the agreement, Trump said.
Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president who has led Venezuela since his capture, confirmed the agreement in a statement posted to the messaging platform Telegram.
“These investments will contribute not only to the recovery and modernization of our industry, but also to our country’s economic growth, the energy security of our hemisphere, and greater balance in international markets,” Rodríguez said.
Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said the deal demonstrated that Trump’s true intentions for ousting Maduro, who is in federal custody on narcoterrorism charges, were to retain control of oil reserves.
“Let’s be clear: this isn’t a win,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) wrote on X. “This is proof Trump put our service members at risk to get Venezuelan oil for his billionaire buddies. Putting our soldiers’ lives on the line for private profit is a gross dereliction of his constitutional duty.”
This story was updated to include Democrats’ opinions on the deal.
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