President Donald Trump announced what he described as a major agreement granting the United States access to roughly 65 billion barrels of oil reserves in Venezuela, one of the largest crude deposits in the world.
The announcement comes amid ongoing tensions between Washington and Caracas, where relations have long been strained over sanctions, disputed elections, and accusations of authoritarian rule under President Nicolás Maduro’s government. Venezuela holds some of the planet’s largest proven oil reserves, making any shift in control over that resource highly significant for global energy markets.
Trump did not immediately provide extensive details on how the arrangement would work in practice, who negotiated it, or what Venezuela would receive in return. The scope of the claim—control over tens of billions of barrels—raises questions about implementation, given the complex web of US sanctions currently restricting American companies’ dealings with Venezuela’s state oil sector.
Given Venezuela’s economic dependence on oil exports and its fraught diplomatic standing with the US, any deal of this magnitude would likely carry major geopolitical implications for the region, energy markets, and the balance of power in Latin America.
For the full story and additional context, read the original report from La Jornada.
Image: tkksummers, BY-SA 2.0 (via Openverse).