Trump says Venezuela oil deal "will greatly strengthen" US ties

President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States had reached an arrangement with Venezuela securing American majority control of at least 65 billion barrels of that country’s confirmed oil deposits. Trump credited Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, Venezuelan interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, and unspecified private businesses, saying the deal would cost U.S. taxpayers nothing. He described it as the largest petroleum agreement in history, asserting it would double American reserves and reduce gasoline prices. Trump did not identify the participating companies. Venezuela’s estimated 303 billion barrels of crude have long been hard to extract because of years of limited investment, decaying infrastructure, and unstable governance. Trump framed the transaction as strengthening the two nations’ growing relationship.