US-Venezuela oil deal outcry
Reports of advanced US talks to secure a major, long-term stake in Venezuela's oil and gas fields have triggered fierce opposition criticism, with figures
The Trump administration is in advanced talks to take a direct stake in more than a dozen Venezuelan oilfields containing an estimated 90 billion barrels of crude. The reports, published this week by several media outlets, have provoked a fierce outcry from Venezuela's opposition, who describe the move as a predatory land grab.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the fields under negotiation are located in the Orinoco Belt and Lake Maracaibo regions. A source told Reuters the discussions were "real and being discussed at the highest levels of the US and Venezuelan governments." Bloomberg reported one proposal involved a 100-year lease on several oilfields.
Opposition fury over 'rapacious' deal
Members of Venezuela's political opposition have reacted with anger and unease. One well-known opposition figure, who requested anonymity, called it "a massive land grab." They said, "This is a rapacious, mafioso United States."
Since a US special forces raid captured authoritarian president Nicolás Maduro in January, the country has been led by interim president Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro's former vice-president and petroleum minister. Key figures from Maduro's regime, like Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, remain in power. Cabello is collaborating with US officials despite having a $25 million US bounty on his head for alleged drug trafficking.
Exiled opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose movement is believed to have won the 2024 presidential election, has been sidelined. Economist Francisco Rodríguez urged the national assembly to reject what he termed a "predatory deal." He argued handing over oil wealth "contravenes the constitution" and is done "at gunpoint." Journalist Luz Mely Reyes sarcastically called it "the deal of the century."
A legacy deal and colonial echoes
Axios reported the potential agreement would be a legacy-defining moment for President Trump, with one official calling it "massive." Energy historian and Eurasia Group analyst Gregory Brew anticipated widespread suspicion of any deal giving the US government effective control over Venezuelan resources.
Brew compared the reported terms to early 20th-century concessions granted to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in Iran. "It sounds colonial, because it is," Brew said. He suggested the administration's goal is to treat Venezuela's vast reserves as a proprietary US source, excluding rivals like China and Russia from access.
Venezuela's conversion into what many call a US protectorate is a key part of Trump's "Donroe Doctrine." This policy adapts the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine to counter China's influence in Latin America through economic and military pressure.
While some change has occurred since Maduro's downfall, including the freeing of hundreds of political prisoners, no date has been set for new presidential elections. Trump recently praised Rodríguez's performance, claiming Venezuela was "not really ready" for a vote. The future of the country's oil, and who controls it, remains the central point of contention.
