Trump Announces Deal Giving U.S. Control of 65 Billion Barrels of Venezuelan Oil

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States has reached an agreement with Venezuela to gain control of at least 65 billion barrels of the country’s oil reserves, which he called the largest oil deal in history. He announced it on Truth Social, according to a report carried by WEAR-TV, and credited Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who he said worked with Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, and an unnamed private-sector partner.

Trump described the terms in broad strokes. The United States, he wrote, would secure majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves at no cost to American taxpayers. He said the deal “more than doubles” American oil reserves, increase supply and lower gas prices over the long term. The WEAR-TV report said Trump did not name the private companies and gave no financial terms or structure for how “majority control” would work, and it did not independently verify his claims about reserves or gas prices.

Rodriguez addressed the deal on Saturday in a speech on state television, AFP reported. She said Venezuela keeps ownership of its resources and that the aim is to turn “cold, inert” resources into “a source of social and economic well-being for the people of Venezuela.” Caracas says the arrangement involves $100 billion in private investment to revive the oil industry. AFP reported that Rodriguez also promised more than $204 billion in tax revenue from the deal but gave no details. The ruling party said it backs measures that put national interests first and blamed U.S. sanctions for the country’s economic collapse.

The announcement follows a dramatic turn in relations. AFP reported that U.S. forces ousted and captured Nicolas Maduro in January, and that Washington let Rodriguez, his former vice president, stay on as interim leader as long as she follows U.S. policy. AFP said Washington has eased oil sanctions imposed under Maduro, and Rodriguez has opened mining and petroleum to private and foreign capital.

The scale of the prize is large. WEAR-TV cited an estimate of 303 billion barrels of crude reserves in Venezuela, a sector held back by years of underinvestment, deteriorating infrastructure and political instability. AFP said oil output rose 29.8 percent from January to July, to 1.2 million barrels per day, still well below the roughly 3 million produced 25 years ago.

Experts quoted by AFP were cautious about how quickly any benefit would arrive. Oswaldo Felizzola, a professor at IESA in Caracas, said output gains will take at least three or four years and that the U.S. role as a guarantor for investment is necessary because the state oil company PDVSA lacks funds. Elias Ferrer of the Orinoco think tank called the deal better than the status quo even without specifics. Among ordinary Venezuelans, AFP found mixed views: some questioned who the deal would benefit, and one government employee hoped revenue would reach ordinary people but said he had not felt any benefit from recent production gains.

The central open question is what “control” means in practice, since the two governments describe the deal differently: Trump speaks of U.S. control of reserves, while Rodriguez insists Venezuela retains ownership. The reports did not describe a signed agreement or publish its terms.