Trump announces U.S. agreement with Venezuela for oil reserves

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday stated that the U.S. has entered an agreement with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of the South American country’s oil reserves. Trump announced the agreement in a social media post, claiming it was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez. Trump wrote, "The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!" The Venezuelan government’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The announcement of the deal comes nearly nine months after the U.S. military, at Trump’s direction, carried out an operation to capture Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro and bring him to the United States to face federal narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges. Trump faces increasing pressure to address high gas prices as the war in Iran reached a six-month milestone with no conclusion in sight. The U.S. has tapped its strategic petroleum reserves, which in early August fell below 300 million barrels, down by more than 100 million barrels since the start of 2026. The U.S.-Israel conflict against Iran has led to a significant slowdown of Gulf oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz, which previously accounted for about 20% of the world’s petroleum. The average price of gas in the U.S. was about $4.09 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA, compared to $3.21 at the same time last year. Trump alluded to the Venezuela deal being part of a private partnership. The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment regarding the private sector partners involved in the deal, and details on how the arrangement would work were not provided. Convincing major American oil companies to return to the region may face challenges due to decades of damaged infrastructure. Days after Maduro's ouster, Trump met with oil executives at the White House and encouraged them to return to Venezuela. While executives expressed interest, they also showed caution based on their past experiences in the country. Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil company, previously described Venezuela as “un-investable.” However, Trump has maintained that his administration has brought a degree of stability to Venezuela, arguing that the country stole U.S. oil when former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez nationalized hundreds of foreign-owned assets, including those of American oil companies. Rodriguez, shortly after taking power, signed a law that opens the nation’s oil sector to privatization, reversing a key principle of the socialist movement that had governed the country for over two decades. Rubio stated on X that the agreement would bring $100 billion in private investment into Venezuela and lead to lower gas prices in the United States, calling it a significant win for both American and Venezuelan people. Venezuela possesses one of the largest oil reserves in the world, with an estimated 303 billion barrels of crude oil, accounting for about 17% of the world’s supply, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Experts note that unlike other regions, the reserves in Venezuela are largely mapped and known, but due to deteriorating infrastructure, the country only produces about 1% of the world’s oil. Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas contributed to this report.