Bloomberg | Sept 1, 2026
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright is due in Caracas today, where he is expected to announce a series of oil deals.
His visit follows a blizzard of activity that suggests President Donald Trump is tightening his grip on Venezuela’s crude reserves for America’s benefit.
On Friday, Trump announced the “biggest oil deal in world history,” saying the US had secured control over more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan reserves.
He said the arrangement would more than double US oil reserves and in turn lower gasoline prices — a core voter concern as November’s midterm elections approach.
The deal carries more than a whiff of imperial intervention at a time when Trump is clear about wanting to assert greater US control over Latin America.
Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, said the nation would retain sovereignty over its resources, and the projects could attract more than $100 billion of investment and generate double that for the state.
She cast the accord as a way to turn its vast underground reserves into “well-being, prosperity and happiness” for its people.
Happiness, however, is subjective.
The US push appears to be driven more by Washington’s priorities than developments inside Venezuela.
The Trump administration is keen to demonstrate political wins ahead of midterm elections with the president’s ratings at a low following the unpopular war in Iran and its impact on affordability.
While it will take time to ramp up Venezuelan oil production, the administration is betting that expectations of future supply can help put downward pressure on prices now.
Even if the impetus is coming from Washington, the consequences will be felt in Venezuela.
The deal may strengthen Rodríguez by giving the US a greater stake in her administration’s continuity.
Opposition figures have questioned whether an interim government has the legitimacy to commit Venezuela’s most valuable assets to long-term agreements. Government loyalists meanwhile see the pacts as a betrayal.
By pushing to lock them in, Trump has achieved an unusual convergence of anger in Venezuela. — Mie Dahl
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