Trump Announces 'Biggest Oil Deal in World History' Giving US Majority Control of Venezuela's Oil Reserves

President Trump announced Friday, August 28, 2026 that the US had struck a deal with Venezuela granting a new joint venture majority US control — a 55% stake — over more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves across 17 fields, which Trump called 'THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY' and said comes 'at no cost to' American taxpayers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth negotiated the agreement with Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez under a 100-year lease; the White House projects it could draw $100 billion in private investment and generate over $209 billion in tax revenue for Caracas, and Trump claimed it would 'substantially lower' US gas prices, though no text of the agreement was released and analysts questioned how quickly the reserves could be developed. The deal follows the US military operation in Venezuela in January 2026 that captured then-president Nicolás Maduro.