On Friday evening, Donald Trump announced that the United States and Venezuela have entered into an agreement on "the biggest oil deal in world history." Here is his full statement:
BREAKING NEWS: The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY! At my direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, working closely with Highly Respected Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, and, through a partnership with private business, have secured majority U.S. control of more than 65 BILLION BARRELS of proven Oil Reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American Taxpayer. This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future, while helping to continue to set Venezuela on a course toward Tremendous Success and Great Prosperity. This Transaction will greatly strengthen the already growing relationship between Venezuela and the United States! Thank you for your attention to this groundbreaking matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP
"This deal is a huge win for both the American and Venezuelan people," Secretary of State Marco Rubio added in a post on X. "It demonstrates how President Trump's bold foreign policy is driving America First wins: securing stable reserves and low-cost oil in our Hemisphere and lowering gas prices here at home. For the Venezuelan people, this deal will bring nearly $100 billion in private investment, support thousands of high-paying jobs, and drive the reconstruction of Venezuela's economy."
This deal is a huge win for both the American and Venezuelan people.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) August 28, 2026
It demonstrates how President Trump's bold foreign policy is driving America First wins: securing stable reserves and low-cost oil in our Hemisphere and lowering gas prices here at home.
For the Venezuelan… https://t.co/SMSRYGWmVb
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) is also calling it a win for both the people of the United States and Venezuela:
If it were up to DC Democrats, Maduro would still be in power, Venezuelan oil would be going to China at half price, and the people of Venezuela would be getting robbed by a corrupt regime.
— Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) August 28, 2026
Instead, this historic deal benefits both countries for generations!
Well done! https://t.co/32vJrJCGcC
The details of the contract have not been released, though there has been a lot of online chatter over the last couple of days. Currently, proceeds of Venezuelan oil sales go into a U.S. Treasury–supervised account, and Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent control disbursement.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven crude reserves, about 303–304 billion barrels (roughly 19% of the global total). Output once topped 3 million bpd; it averaged about 941,000 bpd in 2025 and has recovered to roughly 1.23–1.25 million bpd in late August 2026 — the highest since early 2019 and up nearly 30% since January 2026 — after sanctions relief and cuts to the state’s take on many projects to 20–35% from around 83%.
As Moreno mentioned, China was the biggest buyer under Nicolás Maduro. The Maduro regime also supplied cheap oil to Cuba in exchange for intelligence and military training, as well as medical professionals from Cuba's forced labor programs.
I do want to add that I hope Rubio is right and this will benefit the Venezuelan people as much as it does us. I'm in contact with several each week, and I know that morale isn't especially high at the moment. They remain grateful to Trump and Rubio and the United States for removing Maduro, but their day-to-day lives haven't changed much and, in some cases, have gotten worse. There are daily blackouts, etc.
The double earthquakes that struck in June didn't do much to help with that, and they're fed up with Delcy and ready to have elections and real leadership. Trump calling her "highly respected" in this announcement won't go over too well, but it's all part of the process. I hope to write more on what it will take to get there and what kind of progress is being made on that next week.
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