US President Donald Trump stated on Friday that an agreement has been reached with Venezuela, under which the country has consented to hand over majority control of its oil reserves to Washington.
"Following my instructions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth worked closely with the highly respected interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, and through collaboration with private enterprises, the United States has secured majority control of Venezuela's more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, at no cost to American taxpayers," Trump said in a social media post.
This development comes as the global community scrambles to secure oil supplies disrupted by the war in Iran, while Trump faces voter concerns over gasoline prices and inflation ahead of the US midterm elections in November. Earlier reports indicated that the US administration was seeking to acquire significant interests in Venezuela's oil reserves through a potential partnership between the Department of Defense and energy investor Alejandro Betancourt, a controversial figure who has emerged as a key intermediary between the two nations. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the negotiations involve up to 17 oil fields distributed across Venezuela's primary oil-producing basins.

