President Trump pitched his Venezuelan oil deal as gas-price relief. Democrats saw a dangerous oil grab involving U.S. troops, private businesses and 65 billion barrels of crude.
Trump announced on Truth Social that the United States had secured what he called the “BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY,” with majority U.S. control over a massive portion of Venezuela’s oil reserves.
The president said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth negotiated the agreement with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez and private businesses.
“This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future, while helping to continue to set Venezuela on a course toward Tremendous Success and Great Prosperity,” Trump wrote.
Trump also said the agreement comes “at no cost to the American Taxpayer.”
Joey Jones Pushes Back on Ro Khanna Over Venezuela Oil Deal
Fox News’ Joey Jones defended Trump’s Venezuela oil agreement as a business deal, while Ro Khanna called the policy “morally wrong” and compared it to “gunboat diplomacy.”#WashingtonEye pic.twitter.com/vlO5ckEEjK
— Washington Eye (@washington_EY) August 30, 2026
The pitch landed at a moment when energy costs are already hurting American drivers.
AAA said the average price of gasoline in the United States was roughly $4.09 per gallon last week, and CNBC reported that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve had fallen below 300 million barrels earlier this month.
That level was more than 100 million barrels below where the reserve stood at the beginning of 2026.
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Oil prices have also climbed since the start of the Iran war, which has disrupted crude markets through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has repeatedly argued that more American energy production and dependable supply deals with friendly countries can help lower prices.
Rep. Ro Khanna treated the Venezuela agreement as a moral collapse, not a consumer win.
During an appearance on MS NOW’s “All In,” host Chris Hayes asked whether Americans still had an anti-imperial civic culture after what Hayes described as Trump “having abducted a president of that country” and then moving to take its oil.
“Sad to see. It’s like we’ve rolled back the clock 100 years,” Khanna said.
The California Democrat argued that the agreement put the United States back in “the era of gunboat diplomacy” and reflected what he called a colonial view of the world.
“Trump is rolling it all back because he simply believes in a world where might makes right, where you take what you can,” Khanna said.
“And we need to oppose it on moral grounds. It’s not just that it’s strategically wrong. It’s morally wrong. It’s not what America should be, given our principles.”
The oil at the center of the fight represents a huge share of Venezuela’s underground wealth.
The country has roughly 303 billion barrels of proven crude reserves, the largest supply in the world, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Trump’s agreement covers about 21 percent of that total.
A new company involving the U.S. government and an unnamed private operator in Venezuela received 100-year rights to undeveloped fields.
The United States gets 55 percent effective output from the company, along with an ownership stake and the ability to purchase oil at cost.
Rodríguez said the project involves 17 fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels and could bring $100 billion in investment into Venezuela’s oil industry.
Her statement also said the agreement could generate more than $209 billion in taxes for Caracas.
Rodríguez praised the deal as a “historic milestone in bilateral relations between Venezuela and the U.S.”
“These investments will contribute not only to the recovery and modernization of our industry, but also to our country’s economic growth, the energy security of our hemisphere, and greater balance in international markets,” Rodríguez remarked.
Trump did not name the private businesses involved in the agreement. He also did not explain how the United States would exercise majority control over the reserves or lay out more of the deal’s structure.
The unanswered private-business piece became a target for Democrats who accused Trump of using military force to enrich allies.
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen dismissed Trump’s announcement as anything but a victory.
“Let’s be clear: this isn’t a win,” Van Hollen wrote on social media.
The Maryland Democrat accused the president of risking troops to get oil for wealthy allies.
“This is proof Trump put our service members at risk to get Venezuelan oil for his billionaire buddies,” Van Hollen continued.
“Putting our soldiers’ lives on the line for private profit is a gross dereliction of his constitutional duty.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, accused Trump of using Maduro’s ouster to “control Venezuelan oil.”
“Will prices come down for Americans? Who knows but likely not as much as Trump has forced them up thru his idiotic Iran War,” Kaine tweeted.
Kaine said the agreement would enrich the Trump family and Big Oil companies while slowing a transition to cleaner energy.
“Bottom line—Using our troops for a private oil grab is corruption at epic scale!” Kaine wrote.
The transaction follows the U.S. military’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, and Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in expanding U.S. investment in Venezuela’s oil industry.
Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio turned the attack back on Democrats and argued that the agreement helps both countries.
“If it were up to DC Democrats, Maduro would still be in power, Venezuelan oil would be going to China at half price, and the people of Venezuela would be getting robbed by a corrupt regime,” Moreno posted. “Instead, this historic deal benefits both countries for generations!”
