In the aftermath of Nicolás Maduro's removal from power, the United States has moved swiftly to claim majority control over a vast portion of Venezuela's oil reserves — the largest proven reserves on Earth — through an agreement whose precise terms remain unspoken. Brokered by senior cabinet officials and announced by President Trump as a costless windfall for American taxpayers, the deal raises enduring questions about the line between strategic partnership and imperial extraction. As midterm elections approach and gasoline prices climb, Washington's embrace of Venezuelan crude reveals how en
Trump claims US secures majority control of 65bn Venezuelan oil barrels
This is a rapacious, mafioso United States.
Mark
So Trump is saying the US now controls a fifth of Venezuela's oil reserves. How does that actually work? Does America own the oil, or does it own the right to extract it?
Mimi
That's the central question nobody can answer yet. The announcement doesn't say. It could mean direct ownership, it could mean operational control through a private company, it could mean some kind of revenue-sharing arrangement. We're working with almost no detail.
Luke
Right—and that matters enormously. If it's a lease or a contract, that's one thing. If it's actual ownership of a sovereign nation's resources, that's something else entirely. The reporting we have is Trump's claim and Rubio's endorsement. We don't have the actual agreement text.
Mark
The opposition in Venezuela is calling it a land grab. Are they right to be angry, or are they just upset about losing leverage?
Mimi
Both, probably. They're angry because they see the US using Venezuela's political chaos—Maduro's removal, the interim government's fragility—to extract concessions they wouldn't have gotten otherwise. And they're right that this happened very fast, in a context where the opposition itself has limited say in what the interim government does.
Luke
But we should be careful here. The opposition figures quoted are anonymous, and they're speaking from a position of having lost power. That doesn't make them wrong, but it does mean we're hearing one perspective on what the deal means. We don't have statements from the interim government explaining their rationale, or from the companies involved.
Mark
Trump says this will ease gas prices before the midterms. Is that realistic?
Mimi
It could help, but not immediately. Venezuela's oil production is currently 1.25 million barrels a day. Even if the US gets access to these reserves, ramping up production takes time—infrastructure is damaged, investment is needed. And global oil markets are complex; one country's increased supply doesn't automatically lower prices everywhere.
Luke
Also, Trump is claiming the deal costs American taxpayers nothing, but we don't know if that's true. If private companies are investing billions, someone is paying. The question is who bears the risk and who captures the benefit. That's not in the reporting yet.
Mark
What happens next?
Mimi
Chevron and other companies are supposed to sign their own investment deals next week. That will tell us something about how serious this is and what the actual structure might be. We'll also eventually see whether the interim Venezuelan government faces domestic backlash, or whether this becomes normalized.
Luke
And we need to see the actual agreement. Right now we're reporting on a claim made on social media. That's newsworthy, but it's not the same as reporting on a confirmed deal with known terms.
El Pulso
- Trump declared the US has secured majority control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil at no cost to taxpayers, a claim as sweeping as it is unexplained.
- The announcement's near-total opacity — no named fields, no named companies, no legal framework — has left observers uncertain whether a genuine agreement exists or a political performance is underway.
- Venezuelan opposition figures, who once looked to Washington as a liberating force, now describe the arrangement in the language of plunder: 'a rapacious, mafioso United States.'
- The administration is racing against a domestic clock, with rising gasoline prices threatening to become a midterm liability that cheaper Venezuelan crude could help defuse.
- Chevron and other US energy majors are expected to sign billion-dollar investment deals in Venezuelan oil fields next week, suggesting the corporate machinery is already in motion regardless of the political ambiguity above it.
In the aftermath of Nicolás Maduro's removal from power, the United States has moved swiftly to claim majority control over a vast portion of Venezuela's oil reserves — the largest proven reserves on Earth — through an agreement whose precise terms remain unspoken. Brokered by senior cabinet officials and announced by President Trump as a costless windfall for American taxpayers, the deal raises enduring questions about the line between strategic partnership and imperial extraction. As midterm elections approach and gasoline prices climb, Washington's embrace of Venezuelan crude reveals how energy, power, and political survival continue to shape the fate of nations.
On a Friday in late August, Donald Trump announced that the United States had secured majority control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuela's proven oil reserves through a new agreement with interim president Delcy Rodríguez. Brokered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth through private business partnerships, the deal was presented as costing American taxpayers nothing and potentially more than doubling US oil reserves. Rubio called it a win for both nations.
What the agreement actually means in practice remains deeply unclear. Trump's announcement named no specific oil fields, no companies, and no mechanism by which the United States would exercise control over reserves sitting inside Venezuelan territory. The scale of the claim — 65 billion barrels amounts to roughly one-fifth of Venezuela's total proven reserves, the largest in the world — makes the silence around its details all the more striking.
The move follows the US capture and removal of Nicolás Maduro in January, after which Washington began working to secure Venezuelan crude for American refineries and encourage investment in the country's struggling energy sector. With midterm elections approaching and gasoline prices rising, the political incentive to deliver cheaper oil is considerable.
Earlier reporting from the Wall Street Journal and Axios had described advanced negotiations over a direct American stake in more than a dozen Venezuelan oil fields. One official called the potential deal 'massive.' The administration has also been exploring crude swaps to replenish the strategic petroleum reserve, making Venezuelan supply a priority on multiple fronts.
The announcement has drawn bitter criticism from within Venezuela's own opposition. One prominent figure, speaking anonymously, called the arrangement 'a land grab — a massive land grab,' and said it bore no resemblance to the postwar American generosity of the Marshall Plan. 'This is a rapacious, mafioso United States,' the person said.
Separate from the government-level agreement, Chevron and other major US energy companies are expected to sign their own billion-dollar investment deals in Venezuelan oil fields next week — a corporate commitment that moves forward even as the political and legal foundations beneath it remain unsettled.
On Friday, Donald Trump announced that the United States had secured majority control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuela's proven oil reserves through a new agreement with the country's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez. The deal, Trump said, came at no cost to American taxpayers and was brokered through private business partnerships by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The president claimed the arrangement would more than double the nation's oil reserves and posted the announcement on his social media platform, where Rubio echoed the sentiment, calling it "a huge win for both the American and Venezuelan people."
What the agreement actually entails remains largely opaque. Trump's announcement offered no specifics about the structure of the deal, which oil fields or companies would be involved, or precisely how the United States would exercise majority control over reserves located within Venezuelan territory. The vagueness stands in sharp contrast to the scale of the claim—65 billion barrels represents roughly one-fifth of Venezuela's total proven reserves of 303 billion barrels, the largest proven oil reserves in the world.
The timing of the announcement reflects broader American interests in Venezuelan energy. Since the United States captured and removed former president Nicolás Maduro from power in January, Washington has been working to establish a reliable supply of Venezuelan crude for American refineries while encouraging US investment in the country's deteriorating energy sector, which currently produces 1.25 million barrels per day. Trump faces political pressure heading into November's midterm elections, with rising gasoline prices threatening to become a liability. Cheaper oil from Venezuela could ease that pressure and potentially allow for expanded output.
Reports in the Wall Street Journal and Axios earlier in the week had previewed the negotiations, describing them as "advanced talks" over a direct American stake in more than a dozen Venezuelan oil fields containing roughly 90 billion barrels of proven reserves. One US official quoted by Axios described the potential deal as "massive." The administration has also been seeking ways to replenish the nation's strategic petroleum reserve through crude swaps with American producers, making Venezuelan oil a strategic priority.
The announcement has provoked sharp criticism from Venezuelan opposition figures, who view the arrangement as opportunistic exploitation of their country's instability. One prominent opposition member, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of publicly criticizing the United States, characterized the deal as "a land grab—a massive land grab." The same figure expressed disillusionment with American intentions, saying the move contradicted the image of the United States as a force for democratic reconstruction. "This is not the United States one would have expected," the person said. "This is not the United States of the Marshall plan. This is a rapacious, mafioso United States."
The oil agreement announcement precedes a separate wave of corporate investment. Chevron and other major US energy companies are expected to sign deals next week that would commit billions of dollars to developing Venezuelan oil fields, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal. These investments would represent a significant American corporate commitment to Venezuela's energy future, even as questions linger about the political and legal foundations of the government overseeing these arrangements.
Citas Notables
This deal is a huge win for both the American and Venezuelan people.— Secretary of State Marco Rubio
This is a land grab—a massive land grab. This is a rapacious, mafioso United States.— Anonymous Venezuelan opposition figure
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en The Guardian ↗
Politics & Governance