The Trump administration is in advanced negotiations with Venezuela's interim government to secure long-term US access to a significant portion of Venezuelan oil fields, with talks described by insiders as occurring at the highest levels of both governments. The prospective agreement — reportedly led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodríguez — would cover more than a dozen fields, including sites in the Orinoco Belt and Lake Maracaibo, encompassing roughly 90 billion barrels of proven reserves; a lease model is under consideration, with fields to be allocated to American producers through auction. The deal, which could more than double US proven oil reserves, faces potential legal hurdles under Venezuela's constitution, which reserves core oil industry activities for the state, but proponents argue it would serve both American energy security goals and Venezuela's economic recovery.
Mosaic News
US and Venezuela near landmark deal to share oil fields for decades[Updated]
Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodríguez pushed back Saturday against widespread interpretations of the deal, insisting in a televised address that Venezuela retains full ownership and sovereignty over its oil resources and that the arrangement is designed to convert the country's reserves into tangible economic development, projecting revenues of more than $209 billion. Businessmen Alejandro Betancourt, a major private oil producer in Venezuela who faces money-laundering investigations in Switzerland and Spain, has emerged as a key intermediary in the negotiations, with US emissaries acknowledging his role as a go-between with Rodríguez; the Wall Street Journal reported Washington is seeking an equity stake in his company North American Blue Energy. Meanwhile, deposed former president Nicolás Maduro — detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn awaiting trial on narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges — appeared in prison photographs published Sunday, showing him smiling in a grey sweatsuit and making a 'V' gesture.
President Trump formally announced Friday that the deal has been finalized, describing it as the 'biggest oil deal in world history' and saying the US has secured majority control over 65 billion barrels — roughly 21% of Venezuela's total proven reserves of 303 billion barrels. According to an unnamed US official, the arrangement is structured as a joint venture between the US government and an undisclosed private operator based in Venezuela, which received 100-year concessions over the relevant fields; Washington will hold 55% of effective output, split between an equity stake and the right to purchase crude at cost. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was named alongside Rubio as a key broker of the agreement. The deal is expected to attract nearly $100 billion in private investment and the new joint venture company has been described by US officials as the world's second-largest corporate holder of proven reserves after Saudi Aramco.