Attendees at President Donald Trump’s rally in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday were greeted with a nearby ship in the port that Trump said brought 1 million barrels of Venezuelan oil.
“To the victor belong the spoils, right?” Trump said. “The oil… is being provided to the United States at zero cost to the American taxpayer.”
As voters continue to focus on the rising prices of gas and groceries, Trump has been barnstorming the nation to stump for Republican candidates ahead of next week’s midterm elections. Importing Venezuelan oil isn’t the only recent attempt Trump has made to lower oil costs that have spiked as his war with Iran continues. He waived sanctions last week on Russian oil to allow Moscow to ship more than 1 million tons of diesel to the U.S. in the coming months.
The tanker of Venezuelan oil is the first shipment following Jan. 3 U.S. military operation in Caracas, Venezuela, that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who are awaiting trial in New York.
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Following the capture, which Maduro describes as a “kidnapping,” the Trump administration struck a deal with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed leadership of the country. The deal gave the U.S. access to 65 billion barrels of oil, or about 20% of the reserves from the oil-rich nation.
“This is just the first shipment of BILLIONS of Barrels to come,” Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social. “By unleashing Energy Dominance from Alaska, all the way down to Venezuela, I have made the Western Hemisphere the Energy Capital of the World. Gasoline and Diesel Prices will soon come plummeting down — JUST WATCH!”
Experts told PolitiFact that it could take years for gas prices to drop after Venezuelan oil reaches the U.S.
Trump also hinted at the prospect of Venezuela becoming the 51st state of the nation, something he suggested repeatedly since March.
“It will become a prosperous country, and who knows, maybe someday soon it will become a prosperous 51st state,” Trump told rally-goers. “Let’s make it the 51st state, and instead of a president, we’ll have an election for a governor. How about that?”
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